Dates and Dungeons
"I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding, Marie…" apologized Angie. "Gods above, I cannot believe that I-"
"Look, just stop talking about it, please…" groaned Marie before she rinsed her mouth for the third time after finishing her retching. "I honestly want to stop thinking about it as soon as possible…"
After Marie had finally emptied her stomach outside my window, I took the opportunity to reintroduce Marie to the girls as "my First Life Sister", to which the reaction was an understandable mix of shock at the incredible circumstances and horror at the implications of the spiritual incest they'd implied. Yeah, that was one thing I was certainly grateful to discover; for however much society had regressed as far as marriage contracts and feudalism were concerned, incest was still just as much of a taboo as it was in my first life. Honestly, it made me glad that Zola had tried to pull that marriage contract crap with her older "Forest of Ladies" friend, since I could have very well been put on a collision course with Marie and not realized it until we'd gone too far. Thankfully, I was diverted from such horrifying thoughts by Clarice.
"Yeah, we do need to go over the details that you mentioned earlier," began Clarice. "Details that you couldn't share with anyone who doesn't know you're a Reincarnate, right?"
"Right… It would be really difficult to explain knowing how the Principality opens the upcoming war exactly…" I confirmed. "The Invasion Vanguard event from Year Three."
"...The event that wipes out the Redgrave Family's military forces…" whispered Angie as she recalled what she'd read from Journal One. "...that event will happen?"
"No!" I exclaimed, rushing from my seat to embrace Angie. "No, it won't happen like it did in the game, I promise, Angie… No one from the Redgrave Family is going to be anywhere near this, much less your brother or your father…"
Angie said nothing, but I could see the relief in her eyes at my words before she buried her face into my chest and wrapped her arms around me. Meanwhile, I kicked myself at my insensitivity. The Invasion Vanguard event saw the military might of the Redgrave House utterly broken as war was officially declared, and while Duke Redgrave and Gilbert were not specifically mentioned as casualties, their conspicuous absence from the game's ending was quite noticeable. After a moment, Marie decided to weigh in on the matter to restart the conversation.
"With all the changes that Leon and I have caused with our actions, there's no guarantee that the event will happen the exact same way or at the exact same time anymore," explained Marie.
"Wait, how did Leon speed up the timeline?" asked Livia, frowning at the implication.
"...Shit, it was Belmont, wasn't it?" realized Clarice.
Yeah… In trying to protect myself and Colin from the Forest of Ladies, I inadvertently sped up the timeline for Fanoss's invasion. In my defense, I'd never considered how the war in the game got started in the first place, and furthermore I'd considered that the war was a foregone conclusion, which wasn't entirely wrong on my part. According to Luxion, the war would have still been guaranteed without my intervention, but Belmont Tea Company put the screws to the Fannossian economy, forcing them to escalate their plans much faster. While it did mean that we'd be facing Fanoss before the year was out, it was a blunder that we could use to our advantage; a "self-adjusting screw-up", in a sense.
"By striking directly at the heart of their current economy, I have forced them to strike earlier, but that means that their forces will be more limited than they were in the game," I confirmed. "We've now got the Bastards to help counter whatever the Principality throws in the Vanguard Attack, so as long as we can stop Hertrude from using the Flute to summon the world-ending monster, we can stop this war before it even happens."
"Will sixteen pilots truly be enough to counter what Fanoss sends?" asked Angie.
"It's closer to seventy-two with the Lost Children of the Winged Sharks with us," I elaborated with a smile. "There were some members that I felt were still too young to fly in a cockpit right now, but even without them we still got a major boost to our manpower. Luxion has also started work on two more warships like the Razor's Crest so that we can move those extra Armors more easily. Granted, in a pinch they could probably deploy from anywhere without running out of fuel, but we do need to consider pilot comfort."
"So what exactly is the plan to deal with the Vanguard?" asked Clarice.
"Well, it does largely depend upon striking swiftly and decisively with the Bastards," I explained. "See, the most likely time for Fanoss to strike would be during the School Trip event, just like they do in the game, as the three spots the Academy selected are going to be close enough to the Fanossian border to be opportune targets. Two of the locations are close enough together that we can deploy the Bastards within a quarter of an hour if we station them right, and the third one is going to be far deeper into Holfortian territory, so it's less likely for the Vanguard to strike there. Even if they do, we can prepare to hold them off with local militia until the Bastards get on site."
"That could be quite nasty for the militia to try and handle," noted Clarice with a wince.
"It could, which is why it'll be the worst-case scenario for us," I nodded grimly. "They'd need to be able to fend off Fanoss for at least ninety minutes or so for the Bastards to arrive, even with the fact that my ships are much faster than standard warships. Thankfully, the four of us can travel with that group, and Livia will be able to minimize casualties easily."
"It would seem that you are well-prepared to handle Princess Hertrude," nodded Angie, stirring her tea thoughtfully. "Still, your plans seem incomplete. Do you not also anticipate a problem from her sister?"
"...Her-what-now?" I articulated, blinking blankly.
"Hertrauda, actually," corrected Angie, completely missing my confusion. "Second Princess of Fanoss, Hertrauda Sera Fanoss-"
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on!" I exclaimed, severely perturbed at the direction the conversation was headed. "Hertrude has a sister?!"
"Yes, of course she has a sister, Leon," frowned Angie, confused at my outburst before it dawned on her. "...Did you not realize she had a sister?"
"There was only one Princess of Fanoss in the game I played," I confirmed grimly.
"...Uh… Bubby?" winced Marie. "...Remember how you said that if I suddenly remember something about the sequels later that you wouldn't get mad as long as I told you right away, no matter how crucial the info was?"
"...I remember…" I replied, not liking the direction of this conversation.
"...Keep remembering that for the next five minutes?"
"For fuck's sake!" I shouted, slamming my fist into the table. "This is total bullshit, and I can't even blame the game devs for being lazy and copy-pasting the antagonists from the first game because this is frigging reality for us!"
I had to admit, for all that I had thought that I'd been clever with how I was handling situations in this new life, I was certainly getting quite the wake-up call. How I'd managed to miss something this important for several months at the Academy already was a miracle itself- …on second thought, there were three very beautiful reasons for my attention to be elsewhere, but that still didn't make me any less of an idiot for ignoring it.
"I'm sorry, Bro-" apologized Marie.
"No! …No, it's not on you," I sighed, beginning to calm down. "Would it have been helpful for you to remember that little tidbit earlier when you were making your notes? Sure. Do I blame you for not remembering this detail after- what? Two decades? Three?"
"...Thirteen years since I played the third game, counting the ten that I spent in this world," confessed Marie, realizing I had a point even as her guilt still weighed on her. "I still should have remembered-"
"Look, if you are held responsible for trying to remember this kind of bullshit after a decade, then I'm just as culpable for not picking up a goddamn history book in the same amount of time we've been in this world, so enough of that, Little Dummy…" I shot back, even as I tried to give her an encouraging smile.
"...Ok, Big Bro…" relented Marie, returning the smile even though she was just as troubled.
"...Still, Hertrauda is a problem we need to address, in any event," interjected Angie.
"Yeah, and honestly, it throws a pretty big wrench into my plans from before, because now we need to make sure to take Hertrude alive at all costs so that we don't spark a quest for revenge," I sighed. "Furthermore, there's no guarantee that they won't simply slip Hertrauda past our lines somehow and have her drop her world-ending beasts while our forces are busy fighting Hertrude. They wouldn't even need a large invasion force to do it, either; just enough forged documents for Hertrauda and a group of guards to travel undercover to the capital before summoning the beast-"
"What if they didn't, though?" asked Livia suddenly, a pensive look on her face.
Any further worries and musings on the matter of Hertrauda stopped dead as Livia completely and thoroughly derailed my train of thought. I turned to look at Angie, Clarice, and Marie to see if they had any clue as to what Livia meant, but I could see they were just as confused as I was. Upon seeing our combined blank looks, Livia cleared her throat to explain.
"Well, you've said that we need to consider that this isn't a game, so we can't just dismiss things as 'that's the way the game was written', right?" asked Livia, to which I quietly nodded. "Still, with events like the Slap and the locations of the Saintess's Relics, the game has been accurate up to the points where you and Marie haven't interfered, so why didn't both Princesses of Fanoss attack Holfort at the same time? Your existence hasn't changed the fact that there are two Princesses, so why didn't they both attack in the game?"
I could feel my head spin as such a simple observation turned my thoughts and plans upside-down yet again, this time for the better. It was only the spark of inspiration that her comment had provided that prevented me from kissing my future fiancee within an inch of her life, my mind instead churning as I considered the possibilities. It was a backwards sort of logic, but it made sense when stacked with everything else we'd observed; the existence of myself and Marie didn't change the fact that there were two Princesses of Fanoss, and only one had attacked in the game, so why would they deliberately ignore a tactical advantage-
"...Angie, how close are Hertrude and Hertrauda?" I asked suddenly, glancing at Marie as inspiration came to me.
"Well, if the rumors are to be believed, they're very close," began Angie. "They're the only blood relatives that either of them has left… Why do you ask?"
"It may be the only way we get out of this mess without excessive bloodshed, Angie," I replied, scooping up Livia in my arms as I gave in to my earlier impulse, taking satisfaction in Livia's delighted squeal.
"So, you finally have a free moment for us guys," joked Greg. "How's it feel?"
"Come now, Greg; surely you can understand that Leon would be caught up in the delights of domestic bliss for the last three weeks…" added Brad.
"Alright, alright, knock it off, you two…" I grumbled good-naturedly. "Besides, it wasn't all fun and dates these past three weeks, as you know very well…"
We were back in the Holfort Dungeon again for a long overdue Guy's Day Out, which I was certainly grateful for. Between Academy classes, meetings with Duke Redgrave, Minister Atlee, and Mylene, and spending time with the girls, I'd found myself stretched a bit thin. Thankfully, Greg, Brad, and Julius had decided that a foray into the dungeon would be just the thing to revitalize my spirit while the girls had their own outing in the dungeon. With the weighty conversations I'd had with my improvised "war council", I certainly appreciated it.
"Yeah, that's a fair point, actually," conceded Greg with a frown. "How are those preparations going?"
"Well… It's complicated," I hedged, sighing deeply. "We let them know about the most likely predictions we have for the invasion, but we can't do anything too overt with local militia forces or else we'll tip our hand to Marquess Frampton. Furthermore, since we can't have Livia revealing her powers to Fanoss directly unless we can capture both of the Princesses at once, we're once again stuck with only having two ships to deploy from and not a lot of manpower to buy time for reinforcements to arrive. I think Duke Redgrave was going to approach a few of his vassals privately to provide an additional escort to that third ship."
"Damn…" swore Greg. "I know we had to do it to cover for the Sharks, but it feels like we really could have used their airships right about now."
"Wouldn't have been worth it in the end," I sighed. "We need Frampton's attention to be directed away from us, and sparing the Sharks officially would have done the exact opposite."
"...Well, I suppose it's only a small risk since the third site is so deep into Holfortian territory," observed Julius. "Still, we'll go ahead and split up. Out of curiosity, why do we only have two ships? Wasn't Luxion working on a third?"
"Yep, and it will be ready the day after we get back…" I grumbled petulantly before relenting. "...Honestly, I can't really blame him when he can't make the impossible happen, but I would have preferred being able to station one ship with every group…"
"Bah, enough about that!" scoffed Greg with a smile. "The point of this outing was to get you to relax, so go on! Tell us about the fun parts of these past few weeks…"
"Well, as you know, I wanted to take the girls out on some actual dates since we decided to pursue this relationship…" I began as I let my mind drift back to that first day.
I tapped my fingers in a staccato rhythm through the gift bag and against the box that held my first official courting gift to Angie, hoping and praying that I'd made the right decision to go unconventional rather than traditional. For the two weeks leading up to these dates, I'd gone back and forth on my decision, very nearly caving and getting a necklace or bracelet or something traditional like that. By the time I'd resolved myself to go with my gut feeling, I'd realized that there'd be no way to finish what I'd planned by the time I had my date with Angie, at least not by hand. And so, wracked with guilt at taking the easy way out, I used Old World tech to rapidly prototype and manufacture the gift, hoping that Angie wouldn't feel cheated by a gift that felt… well, lazy… Still, there was hardly anything to be done about it now, even if my worries continued to circle in my mind.
I'd gone over the plan for this date countless times, to the point where Marie had actually slapped me upside the head and told me to relax, beating Jenna by mere seconds from doing the same thing. For a sister to tell you that you're overthinking things was one thing, but to hear that message in stereo was even more humbling. I smiled briefly at the memory, quite glad that Marie and Jenna were getting along so well after being properly introduced, especially since Marie needed something to keep her mind occupied. Chris had not taken the news about Marie's status as a Reincarnate well, and was taking more time than the others to process the information. Marie tried to keep a brave face about it, but I could tell that it bothered her with each day that passed, and the only thing that kept me from having a very pointed conversation with the azure swordsman was a promise to Marie to not interfere unless Chris approached me first.
"Sorry Leon, I hope you haven't been waiting long," greeted Angie briefly as she approached from behind me, shaking me from my heavier thoughts.
"Only about fifteen minutes, but that's my own fault for being so early-" I began with a laugh, turning to stand and look at my future fiancee before the air left my lungs entirely.
Angie's dress was tasteful by all metrics of society, and yet I could feel my heart leap into my throat as I caught sight of her. The sleeves went halfway up her forearms, the skirt reached her ankles, her shoulders were covered, and no decolletage was visible, but the cut of the dress still flattered Angie's natural curves without exposing large expanses of skin. She wore her hair in a relaxed bun, which meant that the pale skin of her neck and collarbone was on full display, making me swallow hard as memories of lavishing attention on the exposed area came vividly to my mind, as well as memories of the areas now hidden behind red silk. Her lovely voice broke me from my stupor a moment later.
"...Leon? Is everything alright?" asked Angie, a note of concern entering her tone.
"...God almighty, I could've waited here for fifteen hours and it still would have been worth every second, Angie…" I mumbled.
"...Flatterer," chided Angie without any heat as she blushed beautifully with a small smile. "Let's get going. You said earlier that we had a reservation?"
"Yeah, there's a newer cafe that's just opened on the edge of the Commerce District and the Commoner Districts, and I was able to reserve a private table discreetly so we can try to limit the exposure of… well, us… at least until it's time," I explained, taking Angie's arm as I guided us to our destination.
"That was quite clever, choosing an establishment away from the Noble Districts, yet somehow I fear that such efforts will be in vain," giggled Angie as she leaned into my arm.
"Oh? Care to elaborate?" I challenged her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"Have you not noticed the eyes upon us?" replied Angie with a meaningful glance.
With that, I finally noticed the surrounding townsfolk were watching us with only a token attempt at subtlety. While I wanted to deny that the looks were for the two of us specifically, rather than the sight of a pair of nobles in the Commoner Districts or even just the sight of Angie herself, many bystanders were staring specifically at me. Unable to suppress the oncoming wince, I glanced back at Angie and felt a little relief at the amusement that I saw in her eyes, but I was still obliged to ask my next question.
"I haven't screwed up the betrothal announcement plans by us going with a date like this, have I?" I asked with a subtle whisper.
"Father mentioned that as long as we were discreet in the Commoner Districts, dates like this wouldn't raise any more eyebrows than us meeting regularly for tea at the Academy," reassured Angie.
"Oh lovely, so we were already as subtle as a sledgehammer," I quipped, getting a light giggle from Angie. "Enh, it doesn't matter. As long as I'm still yours at the end of the day…"
We made our way to the cafe I'd made arrangements with as I tried to ignore the whispers of the young commoner women around us. Eventually, we arrived at our destination, a new establishment by the name of "Rosie's Cafe". The proprietor, no doubt the aforementioned Rosie, was a stout, kind-faced woman in her early forties, struggling to keep up with the sudden rush with two other serving girls. Clearly, the location was experiencing quite the boom in popularity, thus leading to a longer wait time. Eventually, Rosie was able to break free from the chaos to greet us.
"Sorry for the wait, young man!" greeted the woman as she rushed to meet us. "Welcome to Rosie's Cafe-"
The woman stopped dead in her cheerful, if harried, greeting as she finally processed who we were. Her eyes widened and a brief gasp managed to escape before she managed to clamp down on the reaction, trying to maintain a veneer of calm professionalism.
"Good day, my lord," greeted Rosie formally. "I take it that you were the one to reserve our back room?"
"Yes, ma'am," I nodded with a grin. "Password is 'Arroganz', just so you know I am who I say."
"Certainly, my lord," replied Rosie, still maintaining her professionalism in spite of the small cracks in her mask of calm. "Rest assured, discretion will be our top priority in this matter, so please let me know if it is anything but discreet. Follow me, please."
With that, Rosie led us to a private room on the second floor of the establishment. A well-made and serviceable table for two, surrounded by a well-kept yet slightly rustic atmosphere. I helped Angie to her seat before taking my own. Rosie then gave a formal bow.
"I will have one of the girls serve you two exclusively," bowed Rosie, pressing on before I could protest the accommodation. "Please enjoy…"
With that, Rosie swiftly retreated back down the stairs. In spite of not wanting to spoil the date too much, I felt that having an exclusive server was a step too far, especially on a busy day like this. I cleared my throat to say something, but Angie once again demonstrated why I fell in love with her to begin with by beating me to it.
"We should definitely have a word with the serving girl and Miss Rosie herself on the matter of having an exclusive server," frowned Angie. "While it is extremely generous, I fear that it's a courtesy that the staff can ill-afford at all, much less comfortably. I'm sure the poor woman is panicked at the prospect of hosting a pair of nobles in her establishment, but that doesn't mean that she needs to sacrifice her staff's effectiveness to appease our non-existent whims- …Leon? Why are you laughing?"
"...Before I could even form the words, you once again demonstrate the reason that I fell in love with you, Angelica Rapha Redgrave…" I chuckled, reaching across the table to take my fiancee's hand.
Angie blushed heavily, but still squeezed my hand fondly in return as she smiled at me. It was becoming distressingly easy to become lost in my lovers' eyes as of late, but that was hardly a hardship to see her ruby gaze swimming with affection and desire. A moment more, and we might have kissed, but that was the exact moment that our serving girl had arrived. She was a willowy girl, probably slightly taller than me, with a modest figure. She was on the average side of pretty, but still pretty enough that she'd certainly be tipped decently well even if she was a terrible waitress. Her mousy-brown hair was just barely frazzled from the chaos that raged down below, and her sky blue eyes widened as she caught sight of the clasped hands between us. She inhaled sharply with an audible gasp and, with a look that would rival that of a small child seeing Santa Claus in the flesh, gave an excited fangirl-ish squeal of delight.
"I knew it!" gushed the serving girl. "I knew the Knight of Devotion would stand by the woman he volunteered for! Oh gods, this is amazing! I'm so glad that I swapped shifts with Macy-"
… "Knight of Devotion?" Who the hell came up with that chuunibyuo-ass title?! Is that what the Commoners are calling me-
"...I'm sorry, but… What was that name?" I asked blankly as Angie gave the girl a similarly bemused look.
"...Oh gods, I'm so sorry; that was very rude of me, Lord Bartfort and Lady Redgrave-" backtracked the serving girl, bowing her head in apology.
"Perhaps an explanation would be better, in lieu of an apology, Miss…?" interjected Angie.
"...Carrie, my Lady," curtseyed the serving girl before turning to address me. "Well, you are Baron Leon Fou Bartfort, are you not?"
"...I mean, yeah, but what does that have to do with-" I began.
"Then you are the Knight of Devotion!" continued Carrie as though it were obvious. "What else could you be called when it was said 'Devotion', be it to your Lady or to your Guiding Principles, that led you to take a stand against the Founding Heirs themselves?!"
"Well… 'The Bartfort Bastard' and 'The Mad Hound of the Redgraves' tend to come to mind first…" I mused, listing off some of the epithets I'd heard around the Academy following my victory. "Personally, I think 'The Scoundrel Knight' is quite fitting-"
"Those are horrible names!" protested Carrie with a dismayed look. "It would be disgraceful to call you something like that after you stepped up so nobly for your Lady's honor not just once, but twice! The Knight of Devotion may be a devilishly handsome rogue with a sharp tongue and beguiling smile, but he still stands with true chivalry and honor-"
"I do agree that he is most certainly far more than 'The Bartfort Bastard' and 'The Mad Redgrave Hound', Miss Carrie, but he can be quite the scoundrel as well," smiled Angie, even as she gave me a loving look. "It's not a bad thing, by any means, but he does have that roguish smile for a reason, even if we've grown quite fond of it."
"Oh, I've heard girls go on for ages about that roguish smile, if it's not too bold to say, my Lady?" giggled Carrie conspiratorially, but then the last part of Angie's statement seemed to register. "...Wait, you said 'we'-"
"...Yes, I did, didn't I?" smirked Angie. "I'm sure I can trust you to be discreet until the official announcement in the next few weeks?"
"...I swear on my life I'll not tell a soul, my Lady!" squeaked Carrie with excitement.
"I'm sure that you'll keep your word," laughed Angie gently at the young woman's enthusiasm. "Now, if you could bring us something to drink to start? Perhaps two lemonades?"
"Right away, my Lady!" nodded Carrie enthusiastically, rushing out to fill our order.
I sighed as I watched the excitable serving girl leave in a flurry, knowing that Angie was amused at my consternation. One thing that I'd been at odds with the girls over the past few weeks was my reputation in Holfort, and neither side had been willing to give ground on the matter. No matter how much the girls insisted that I was "desirable", objectively speaking, I would counter that they were unfairly biased in their opinions given our history together. However, in the face of Carrie's reaction to me, along with the excited whispers that we'd observed on our way here, it was clear that I'd well and truly lost the argument. Angie turned to me with a satisfied look, taking my hand from across the table.
"I hope this experience has convinced you that you are, in fact, actually desirable on your own," stated Angie, her tone inviting no argument in spite of its warmth.
"Yes, dear," I snarked back gently, eliciting a giggle from Angie at my feigned petulance before I spoke frankly. "Still, I never want to be complacent in this relationship, so forgive me if I don't rely on that knowledge going forward. I always want to be better for you three, because I feel that you truly and honestly deserve it."
"And we truly appreciate your efforts, Leon, even though you've done so much already," smiled Angie.
"...So, yes, um… In the spirit of starting off this engagement on the right foot, I wanted to present you with a gift," I stammered as my nerves started to get the best of me, pulling out the box from the gift bag with trembling hands.
The polished oak box was simple in design, but still well-made. Angie opened the latch, lifted the lid gently, and immediately gasped at the contents, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. For a very brief instant, my insecurities surged forward as I feared that I'd made a terrible mistake, my heart pounding somewhere in my throat. Thankfully, the moment didn't last as Angie vocalized her thoughts.
"...You remembered," whispered Angie fondly as she gave me an adoring look, and I could feel the tension from my previous fears and worries melt away.
Inside the velvet-lined box sat twin hidden blades, not unlike the ones that I wore on my uniform at the Academy, sized to fit Angie perfectly. The blades themselves were designed to be worn with or without armored bracers, allowing them to be overt or covert as the situation required. Of course, it was a given that the blades were also accompanied by a pair of said bracers engraved with the Redgrave Family Crest. Almost unconsciously, Angie reached into the box and picked up one of the blades and bracers together, carefully examining every detail with a look of wonder that would not be out of place on a woman examining a betrothal necklace. Now that I knew that the bracers were the perfect gift, I internally berated myself for taking so long to decide that Luxion's manufacturing facilities had been required, wishing that I could have truly taken credit for the production of the gift.
"Gods above, how long were you working on these?!" exclaimed Angie as she inspected the bracer she'd picked up.
"...Not nearly as long as I should have been," I admitted.
"What could you possibly mean?" frowned Angie in confusion. "The workmanship is impeccable-"
"I used Luxion's manufacturing and design facilities to make these last night," I confessed, unable to meet Angie's eyes. "I waffled between these and something more traditional like a necklace or something for the last two weeks, and by the time I finally made my decision, it was the eleventh hour. I'm sorry, Angie; you deserve far more consideration and planning than that…"
"...Leon, are you saying that you made this with Old Human technology?" asked Angie quietly.
"...Yeah, I did-" I sighed, ready to apologize again, but Angie cut me off with an uncharacteristic squeal of delight.
In the next instant, I felt myself pulled forward by my tie as Angie kissed me enthusiastically. While I wish that I could describe the kiss that followed in more detail, I found myself caught in a haze of lavender and warmth for the duration of the kiss, and any descriptions beyond that evaded me entirely. Needless to say, I certainly didn't mind the sudden turn of events. When we broke apart, I could see her eyes shining with excitement as she smiled brightly at me.
"Can you show me the facilities you used?" pleaded Angie as her requests spilled out in a rush. "Is this the same way you made your own bladed bracers? Can we make another set together?"
"Uh, yeah, kinda, and sure?" I mumbled as I attempted to answer her questions in order. "Hang on, you're really not mad at me?"
"Why in the name of all sanity would I be mad?!" exclaimed Angie with an incredulous look that still managed to maintain its effect even as she smiled warmly at me.
"I mean, I wanted to make your gift with my own two hands, and to use Old Human tech just seemed like it could have been taken as lazy and not putting the effort in that you deserve-" I tried to explain.
"Leon, these bracers are some of the finest weapons in the entire kingdom," argued Angie fervently. "The fact that you were able to produce in hours what the finest smiths in Holfort couldn't dream of producing in years is beside the point. The only way that you could have made this gift even more perfect is if you'd brought me along to see the process, and even still I'm not complaining."
"...Alright, then…" I cleared my throat, unable and unwilling to stop the dazed grin that creeped onto my face as I proceeded to throw out any semblance of the plans I had before. "I suppose we'll finish lunch here and then make our way to the Workshop and Test Range on the Razor's Crest-"
Anything else I would have said was lost as Angie gave a joyful squeal once again before pulling me across the table and kissing me enthusiastically. To my relief and consternation, Carrie picked that exact moment to return with our drinks, promptly dropping them as she gasped in shock and proceeding to give another "fangirl" squeal. Angie broke away, momentarily embarrassed, but the joy from receiving my betrothal gift soon overtook any hesitation that Angie felt at gushing over the details of said gift with the nearest person possible. I could see Rosie rushing to the room to admonish Carrie for her outburst and lack of decorum, so I stood up to cut off the reprimand before it began with a bag of dia.
"The service has been exemplary thus far, madam," I interjected as I handed the bag to the woman. "Consider this a bonus for the efforts of you and your employees to make this outing so perfect, and I'd like to discuss future reservations at your earliest convenience, if possible?"
"...If you're certain, my lord…" replied Rosie hesitantly.
"Madam, I've never been more sure of anything in my life before," I answered warmly as I watched Angie explain the significance of the bracers to a slightly confused yet excited Carrie.
If the Workshop only went half as well as how this date had gone so far, maybe there was hope for me still…
"...Damn, that was… wow, hidden blade bracers?" asked Greg. "That's actually kind of cool considering one of your very first conversations. What did she think of the Workshop?"
"She was like a kid in a candy store," I smiled fondly. "We spent a good part of the day prototyping a few items, and then a longer time at the test range trying them out."
"Truly, it was an inspired choice to take her on your first official date," mused Brad. "Still, I can't imagine that you simply took each of the girls on the exact same sort of date, no?"
"Not at all," I grinned at Brad. "Clarice was next, and I decided to play into what I knew about her interests specifically…"
"An airbike flying date?" guessed Julius.
"Not quite…" I chuckled. "
"Gotta say, while the standard airbike jumpsuit is very nice to see on you, I can't say I hate this getup…" grinned Clarice.
We were walking down to the airbike track after a quick lunch at Rosie's, where Carrie and Clarice had gotten on like a house on fire, much to my amusement and chagrin. Since I was going to be introducing Clarice to the world of motorcycles, I'd decided to dress for the part: Black leather boots, American-style blue jeans, and a white t-shirt, the look tied together by a black leather jacket with my Mythosaur crest embroidered in white on the back. In hindsight, the look was probably mismatched to the bike we'd be riding, but I thought Clarice would appreciate it all the same. Out of the three of the girls, Clarice seemed to appreciate my roguish charm the most, so leveraging the stereotypical "bad boy motorcycle guy" look didn't seem like a bad idea here. It might put me on even footing with Clarice and the effect her outfit was having on me.
Airbike jumpsuits were designed with freedom of movement and reduction of air resistance in mind. This meant that they were typically skintight, concealing precious little of what was beneath them. For Clarice, this meant that the curves of her hips and bust were clearly visible, and I wasn't sure if it was more tempting to know exactly what she looked like without it than if I'd been ignorant of such matters. What I was sure of, though, was that it was a very good thing that I was not wearing a skintight airbike jumpsuit myself, else I would've been cut to ribbons by Clarice's Followers for "showing such impropriety to their Lady".
Oh if only these guys knew… Then again, probably for the best that they don't…
"Glad that you like it," I replied as I came out of my thoughts. "Figured it would be best to get into the spirit of this, rather than try to do things halfway."
"Well, I'm glad you thought it was worth it to 'go all the way with me'..." smirked Clarice as she tugged on my jacket collar.
"...uh, yeah, of course…" I coughed, acutely aware of the stares from our unofficial chaperones.
"So… shall we take a look at your 'iron steed', my Devoted Knight?" teased Clarice with a flutter of her eyelashes.
I sighed with fond exasperation at Clarice's grin, unable to suppress my own smile. Since my date with Angie, Clarice had found no end of amusement about the title that the common folk had bestowed upon me, and took great pleasure in teasing me with it at every opportunity. I had told her that such actions would mean "war", of course, to which she cheekily replied that I was woefully unprepared for such a conflict. The stammering mess that she left me in after tugging on my tie illustrated that point perfectly, but I'd be damned if I surrendered without any effort on my part.
"Well, my Lady, allow me to present the forerunner of Airbikes…" I countered with a theatrical bow, stepping away to remove the dust cover from the motorcycle that Luxion had carefully recreated.
As the bike was finally revealed, I felt a surge of satisfaction at the excitement that I could see in Clarice's eyes. When planning for this date, I'd been torn between two models of motorcycles for Luxion to recreate, debating between old school classic and modern familiarity. Eventually, I'd decided to go with a more contemporary Kawasaki Ninja rather than a classic Honda Nighthawk, given that the Ninja's design would be more familiar to Clarice and her experience with the more angular design of airbikes. The fact that the seating arrangements would force Clarice to press against my back more intimately… well, I'd be lying if I said that it hadn't crossed my mind, but it certainly wasn't the deciding factor. Besides, I'd learned how to ride on a Ninja back in my first life, so it was only practical to have Lux recreate one for the date… right?
Clarice walked around the bike carefully with an appraising look in her eyes. I'd told Luxion to go with a black color scheme that would match my armor and pair nicely with Schwert in the garage I'd eventually store it in once I left the Academy. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see some of Clarice's Followers studying the bike from an appropriate distance, with a few of them coming to the realization about the seating arrangements if the mix of outraged glares and scandalized looks were anything to go by. Eventually, Clarice returned to my side, making my heart jump as she sandwiched my arm between her heavenly curves and she gave me an eager look.
"It's absolutely amazing, Leon," praised Clarice earnestly. "I'll admit that I was expecting something radically different from our current airbikes, but this feels like a perfect blend of familiar and unfamiliar."
"Definitely one of the reasons I picked this design," I grinned, even as I tried to keep my voice level. "Still, we'll not be able to truly appreciate its charms like this, so shall we take it for a ride?"
"An inspired idea, my Knight," teased Clarice as she leaned forward to kiss my cheek.
With a nervous cough, I quickly put on my helmet and riding goggles before assisting Clarice with her own helmet. I'd opted for a modified "open-face" design for myself to go with the rest of my "look", even though I could have simply picked an airbike helmet and jumpsuit like Clarice did. In fact, as Clarice took position behind me on the bike, I realized that I'd be able to… feel more… if I had opted for a similar outfit rather than going for a specific look. After further consideration, though, I decided that the dampened sensations were a good thing in the end. I was already able to feel the warm, pillowy pressure of Clarice's considerable bust against my back just fine; anything beyond that would be a dangerous distraction while actually riding the bike, no matter how much my teenage hormones screamed in protest.
"Ready to go?" I asked briskly, to test the microphone and earpiece of the new helmet.
"Let's go, loverboy…" purred Clarice with a sultry tone that sent a shiver down my spine even with the slight electronic distortion of the comm unit in her helmet..
Deciding that I needed to get started before I found myself unable to drive at all, I started up the bike and revved the throttle. Clarice yelped from behind me, her grip on my torso tightening briefly before relaxing as she gave a brief laugh of wonder and delight. I released the brakes and accelerated down the track, Clarice's excited yell as we began to ride in earnest. If Clarice was as good on an airbike as she was as a passenger on a motorcycle, I certainly wanted to go flying with her soon. She held onto me, but not too tightly, and she followed my leaning with every turn we made. It was almost like dancing, in a way, and I felt closer to Clarice than ever before, even including the night we spent together, skin to skin. Not long after our first lap around the track, I could hear Clarice over the intercom.
"Hey loverboy…" said Clarice huskily. "While I appreciate you being gentle for my 'first time', what's a girl gotta do to get you to go faster?"
"...Say 'please'..." I replied, throttling up the bike.
Clarice gave a delighted squeal as we accelerated faster down the track, and I felt a certain level of satisfaction from her reactions. I was so glad that I'd remembered our conversation from that one night where she tried to take me as a lover, because this truly was the perfect kind of date for the two of us. I could hear Clarice humming happily to herself as she moved her hands to the bottom of my leather jacket, "La Vie En Rose" coming through in a carefree and easy tone. I felt a pleasant chill down my spine as Clarice's hands slid up under the jacket, her fingertips tracing circles on my torso through the fabric of my undershirt.
"...Miss Atlee, you are teasing me quite ruthlessly…" I accused without any heat.
"...Turnabout is… fair play, my Knight…" breathed Clarice in return, her words halting for a brief moment. "Just… keep going, love… Faster…"
"...As you wish…" I replied, gunning the throttle as we hit another straight section on the track.
I could hear Clarice gasp sharply as we shot forward, her satisfied hum almost drowned out by the growl of the engine. We were almost through with our second lap, and her touch remained tender and loving, but her previous humming had stopped. In fact, her breaths seemed to be a little faster than before, but I wouldn't swear to it. As we crossed the starting line, I reassured myself that Clarice was fine and there was nothing to worry about. Clarice once again relocated her hands, this time beneath my undershirt to touch my abs and chest directly, being careful to not distract me on the first turn, gasping sharply as I accelerated out of it. It wasn't until I accelerated out of the second turn on the track that I realized that I was devastatingly wrong about Clarice's situation. Clarice let out a stifled whimper as her fingers tensed against my skin.
"Clarice? What's wrong?" I asked briskly, concern rising. "Did you need to stop-"
"N-no!" yelped Clarice haltingly, her voice tight. "D-don't stop, love! B-by the G-g-gods, don't y-you dare s-stop-"
Another whimper escaped Clarice's lips, and I could feel one hand leave the confines of my jacket for a moment, soon returning to its previous position. Dead silence reigned over the intercom, causing my anxiety to rise. The circles on my torso had stopped entirely, and I could feel the tension in Clarice's arms like a bowstring ready to snap. Since we were on the opposite side of the track from the starting line, I decided to follow Clarice's instruction to me, but resolved that we'd stop after this lap. I accelerated to get to the final turn, hissing slightly in pain as Clarice's nails began to bite into my skin. For a painfully long moment silence reigned over the comms as Clarice gripped me impossibly tight, her nails still digging into the skin of my chest. I thought that I could feel a tremor in her arms, but it was difficult to tell with the vibrations of the bike. Soon, I could feel her grip relax as her arms loosened from around my midsection. A hand once again left the confines of my jacket but did not return, instead resting over the top of it. The intercom returned to life, deep breaths filling the silence before Clarice spoke again.
"...We can stop now, loverboy…" sighed Clarice quietly.
"...Sure… Almost back at the start, Clarice," I replied, throttling the bike down to prepare for our eventual stop.
We took the last turn smoothly without stopping, coasting down the track to the starting line where I could pull off from the track entirely. Upon stopping, Clarice stumbled as she got up from the bike, her legs inexplicably unstable for the briefest instance before she stood completely still for nearly a minute, her hands on her knees. After that minute, she walked off to the locker room without saying a word, her stride a tad bit unusual. I wracked my brain for what could have possibly happened on the track: Motion sickness seemed unlikely, since airbikes moved far faster than a motorcycle, and Clarice was an accomplished pilot. Any further pondering was broken by Dan gripping my shoulder tightly, a spark of anger in his eyes.
"What the hell just happened, Bartfort?!" snapped Dan, glaring fiercely at me.
"I have no clue!" I hissed back. "Everything was going fine, but then Clarice-"
"Well…I can't imagine that they had many women riding these machines… I imagine that something like that would be rather… stimulating …"
Unbidden, Clarice's observations from that night filled my mind, my entire face burning as I had a mortifyingly vivid epiphany about the events of the last ten minutes or so. Well…At least I was no longer worried about Clarice not enjoying the experience… Still, I felt embarrassed that I'd failed to notice the signs. Feeling Dan's inquiring glare still upon me, I turned to address the man, clearing my throat several times before I could finally make the only statement I could about the situation.
"...It would appear that Clarice enjoyed our ride far too much…" I coughed, unable to meet Clarice's most loyal retainer in the eye.
Dan stared at me for a few moments longer, but I refused to elaborate any further. Eventually, I no longer needed to, as the light dawned in Dan's eyes upon the realization of his liege lady's plight. I watched as Dan's jaw dropped involuntarily, his eyes widening like dinner plates, but any answer that I might have provided was lost as Clarice emerged from the locker room. She was back in her Academy uniform, and any signs of her previous unbalanced state were gone. There was a heat in her gaze that gave me a sense of the most delicious danger known to Man or Beast…
I watched as Clarice approached me steadily, almost prowling forward as though she were a wolf or a panther stalking its prey. Before I could say a word, she'd grabbed me by the front of my motorcycle jacket with one hand and pulled me into a searing, mind-numbing kiss. I was barely aware of the reactions of Clarice's Followers around us as they made shocked exclamations and protests at their Lady's impropriety, my head spinning as her tongue made a very thorough exploration of my mouth. I felt a hand go into my pants pocket, giving me a squeeze to send my heart into my throat yet again as a jolt ran through me to a very particular area. After a moment longer, she broke away, her emerald eyes burning with barely repressed desire before she leaned in to whisper into my ear.
"That was damn well worth the wait, loverboy," sighed Clarice huskily, sending a chill down my neck. "But understand that the next time you rile me up like that, you will take responsibility for it, regardless of what the betrothal agreement says…"
Before I could respond, another searing kiss and squeeze scrambled any thoughts that had managed to rally from the aftermath of her previous one. Another moment and then she was gone, leaving only the scent of her tangerine perfume and the taste of her lips behind as she walked back towards the locker rooms, her Academy uniform skirt swishing with every step. For a moment, nothing was said as I tried to get my pulse back to normal and my heart out of my throat, but it was damn near impossible while Clarice's retreating form was still in view, her swaying hips clearly visible even with her skirt in the way. Without thinking, I put my hands into my pockets in an effort to exude calm despite the passion I was feeling for my future fiancee, only to flinch as I discovered that tangerine perfume and the taste of her lips were not the only things Clarice had left behind.
Thanks to having removed my riding gloves earlier, I could appreciate the texture of Clarice's little gift to me to the fullest extent. I could feel the fine silk trimmed with lace as my mind wondered at the colors and style. I could feel the warmth of it against my fingertips, indicating that it had not been parted from its owner for long. My hand explored it further, and I soon found an unmistakable dampness to the gift. Even as I had little doubt as to what Clarice had left for me in my pocket, I surreptitiously glanced downward as my curiosity had overwhelmed me, careful to not let the emerald green silk trimmed with black lace show to any bystanders. I swallowed hard, even as my mouth went dry at the thought of what Clarice wouldn't be wearing as we walked back. It seemed as though I would need to use caution if I took Clarice on another motorcycle riding date before the engagement was announced…
I coughed awkwardly as the three of them waited for me to elaborate on the ending of my date with Clarice. The full implications of making Clarice climax on the back of a motorcycle just by going for a ride was deeply embarrassing, to say the least. Hell, I caught an earful from Dan afterwards in private, but eventually the man conceded that it was an accident, even if he insisted that there would be no further motorcycle rides until after the engagement announcement, preferably after the wedding. I cleared my throat again, hoping that my prevarication would divert their attention.
"...Well, Clarice definitely enjoyed the experience-" I began.
"Marie already told us what effects a motorcycle can have on a lady passenger," deadpanned Greg.
…Dammit…
"...Yes, well, best to not belabor that point," I coughed again.
"We're not children, Leon," chuckled Julius. "While we'd not want to hear all the details of such matters, simply mentioning them isn't a problem."
"...Well, I suppose that's a good thing for my date with Livia…" I mumbled to myself before addressing the group. "...Did Marie mention my nightmares?"
"Nightmares?" blinked Brad. "What do you-"
"...Fuck… You've got combat fatigue, don't you?" realized Greg after a moment.
"My era called it Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but… yes, yes I do," I confirmed.
"Wait… how would Miss Livia help with such a condition?" asked Julius with a frown.
"Well… perhaps I can kill two birds here and elaborate on Livia's movie night date at the same time?" I suggested.
The credits began to roll on the movie, and I took another breath of vanilla as I kissed Livia on the top of her head. As if a spell had broken, Livia gave a slight start before turning her head to kiss me and then snuggle into my chest. I chuckled gently, amused that the spellbound focus of seeing her first movie had finally broken. She had, of course, selected "The Princess Bride" as her first foray into cinema, which I felt was an excellent choice even without our own connection to it. Now that she was no longer enraptured by the new experience, I cleared my throat to get her more specific thoughts on the story.
"So… How did the movie compare to the book?" I asked, running my fingers tenderly through Livia's hair.
"It was… familiar, but still drastically different, and I'm not quite sure which one was better…" frowned Livia thoughtfully.
"...Well, that's a little surprising," I blinked. "Most people in my time would invariably say that the original books are far superior to the movies adapted from them, and in the few cases where they aren't, the movies are clearly better. Any reason that you say the two are so evenly matched here?"
"Well… the example that I can think of right away is the adaptation of 'As You Wish'," explained Livia. "In the book, Buttercup needed to have Westley practically spell out the meaning of the phrase to her and, while his words were exceedingly romantic and made my heart flutter, I found myself liking that the movie version of Buttercup figured the phrase out on her own. Sure, it meant that we missed out on her dramatic realization of her feelings after her jealousy at the Countess and the passionate declarations that followed, but I think I prefer the Buttercup that is more of an equal to Westley, to be honest…"
"That… honestly is an excellent point," I blinked. "I've never really given it much thought, but she really is quite capable and intelligent, in spite of being relegated to the 'damsel in distress' trope for the bulk of the movie."
"Other than that, the book and the movie were fairly similar, with only minor differences here and there," continued Livia.
"Makes sense, since the same man wrote the book and the screenplay," I nodded thoughtfully.
"Sir Goldman wrote the movie version as well?" exclaimed Livia with a bright smile. "That's wonderful! I suppose that makes it a fair comparison between the two versions…"
With that observation, Livia buried her face into the side of my neck with a contented sigh. I traced a few lazy circles with my fingers on her shoulder, humming the ending theme of the movie to myself as I held Livia close. Honestly, holding Livia like this was one of the most relaxing things that I'd ever done in either one of my lives, the simple act putting me nearly completely at ease. The only point of tension in this activity for me was that the only layer between Livia and myself was the boxer shorts I wore to bed.
It had been a point of contention for me, at least at first. After the betrothal discussions had concluded, I'd resolved that I would make sure that Livia was not treated any differently because of her status as a commoner. Therefore, I had attempted to make sure that I followed the same rules of propriety with Livia as I did with Angie and Clarice. Hell, I fully intended to find time to meet with her parents and ask for their blessing properly at some point. Of course, this meant that the previous "nighttime excursions" that the girls had made to my room were utterly out of the question. That had lasted for exactly three nights, ending when Luxion had snitched to the girls about the return of my nightmares. That night, Livia had entered my room wearing only a dressing gown and a confident smile, with the dressing gown quickly being abandoned to my floor.
The ensuing argument that night was one of the fiercest we'd had since our relationship started, even pulling Clarice and Angie into it over the comm units, to which they both said that Livia's presence in my bed each night was necessary for my continued well-being and if they could be allowed to, they'd join her in my bed without a second thought as well. As it was, Livia's status, or rather lack thereof, is what would allow her to join me in my bed every night to help soothe my PTSD, socially speaking. I knew they were right, but I also knew that such actions would give cause for our classmates to look down upon Livia like she was some common whore, and the mere thought of that made my blood boil. After expressing this feeling, Livia knelt down next to me, looked me in the eyes, and proceeded to tell me that was one of the sweetest reasons for being an idiot that she'd ever heard, and then told me to stop being an idiot and come to bed.
The three of them had, of course, been entirely correct, with my nightmares stopping the moment that Livia joined me in my bed, and since Angie and Clarice had not only given their blessing but also mandated the activity, I withdrew my objections. I had absolutely insisted that my boxer shorts remain in place during the night and we'd only kissed and cuddled during this timeframe, and the others did agree with my stipulations. Still, it was nice to wake up to Livia's smiling face every morning. Any further musing on the matter was interrupted by Livia, mumbling softly from my chest.
"I wish the others were here with us right now…" sighed Livia. "I know we see them every day and we spend so much time with them, but being like this is just… different…"
"You don't say?" I remarked dryly, to which Livia gave a devastatingly effective chiding pout before I continued. "...No, I get what you're trying to say, and I agree; having this casual sort of intimacy is nice, and I wish we could share that with Angie and Clarice. It's sort of the other side of the coin to my initial objections to having you stay here without having them with us; I know they've given their permission, but I don't want to feel like we're leaving them behind or abandoning them."
"Exactly," agreed Livia. "It's one of the reasons that I haven't tried to press for some of the things we did back on the Razor's Crest, even though… well, I've thought about them a lot…"
"...Yeah, can't say they haven't crossed my mind either…" I coughed with a sheepish grin, amused at Livia's blushing in spite of my own self-consciousness. "...I know they said that we could do anything that we'd already done, but it just doesn't feel right to do that without them, right?"
"...Well, I suppose it mostly feels that way right now because they specifically don't have the opportunity to," mused Livia. "Once we're all married and living together, I imagine that we'll each want nights to have you to ourselves, just as much as I'd want to have one-on-one time with Clarice or Angie."
"...I mean, that is a good point…" I conceded. "I suppose I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept of polyamory and what would be considered 'infidelity' in such an arrangement…"
"...Maybe we should go ahead and talk to them about it?" asked Livia. "We do have the comm units after all, and I think having that ambiguity hanging over us would be quite maddening, even if it's only for another week or so…"
I checked the time from my comm unit and saw that it wasn't too terribly late, all things considered, being only half past ten in the evening. I figured it was about a fifty-fifty shot whether they'd already turned in for the evening or if they were still awake, and this was a matter that was probably worth waking them up over. Getting a brief nod from Livia, I placed a conference call to Angie and Clarice, adjusting positions with Livia to allow us to both be in the frame without exposing her blatantly. Only Angie's comm unit was answered, opening to a darkened room.
"...m'ello?" answered a bleary-eyed Clarice, her topless form barely visible from the glow of the comm screen.
"...Sorry to wake you, love," I chuckled lightly, a weight coming off my shoulders at the revelation that Clarice and Angie weren't simply enduring the loneliness in the evenings. "I take it that you and Angie turned in a little early?"
"...m'yeah, we did- oh…" answered Clarice before her mind caught up. "...Shit, we probably should have told you before we did this-"
"Don't worry, Clarice," I interjected kindly with a chuckle. "One of the reasons for this call was that Livia and I were worried about the two of you being left out, so I'm honestly glad that you two were handling that. Can you wake Angie up? We wanted to talk to you two about some things regarding this situation and future instances like it."
"Already awake, Leon," answered Angie groggily, a bedside lamp coming on before Angie appeared in the frame in a similar state of undress as Clarice. "...And what do you mean by 'future instances like it'? Why- oh… I think I see; you mean situations where we may wish for one-on-one intimacy, yes?"
"You've got it," I confirmed with a nod. "Now, nothing has happened over here yet-"
"Wait, wait, wait!" interjected Clarice. "Are you saying that for the last three weeks that you and Livia have cosied up in bed naked and nothing has happened?!"
"...Well, kinda, yeah…" I admitted sheepishly. "We didn't want to do anything behind your backs…"
For a moment, Clarice was silent as she processed the lack of physical intimacy between Livia and myself. In any other circumstance, watching Clarice have a minor crisis completely topless would have been amusing, but the context for said crisis sent a small chill down my spine. Angie watched Clarice in concern, placing a comforting hand on Clarice's shoulder. After a few more moments of silence, Clarice finally turned to look at Livia, her expression gravely serious.
"...Livia, I want you to listen to me very, very carefully, alright?" commanded Clarice, her tone resolute. "...If you and Leon are both feeling frisky right now, I want you to suck any and all coherent thoughts from his head right out the end of his-"
"Clarice!" gasped Livia as she blushed heavily, but I could see a glimmer of excitement in her eye that confirmed my impending doom.
"Really, Clarice, there's no need to be so crass-" chided Angie quietly.
"Alright sure, but… Godsdammit, they're so close every night and absolutely nothing has happened!" protested Clarice. "They should have at least enjoyed the things we did before! Hell, as long as we all get to share our first night, I'm fine with the two of them fooling around more than what we did before!"
"...While Clarice was rather blunt, I would agree with her on this matter," sighed Angie with a fond smile. "Quite frankly, I'm surprised that we didn't discuss this much sooner, although I do appreciate us actually having the discussion. Even still, please enjoy this time you have together, and know that we'll catch up to the two of you later. We'll see you two at breakfast."
With that, the comm line went dead, and for a moment, nothing was said between the two of us. A moment later, I realized that Clarice and Angie had given Livia a proverbial blank check for any bedroom antics save for actual sex until the engagements could be announced. I then realized that my first epiphany had come far too late to allow me any escape from my fate as I could feel Livia's hungry gaze upon the side of my face. Slowly, I turned my head to meet Livia's gaze, and I idly remembered a random fact about blue flames being hotter than a regular orange flame. I cleared my throat as Livia crawled toward me, hoping to buy myself a little time.
"...I mean, we don't have to do anything tonight, since it is getting late-" I began to say, but any further arguments were lost as Livia gave a dangerous giggle before pouncing on me-
There was a moment of silence again as my story wound down to a close, the obvious implication hanging in the air. Given how the three of them were coughing nervously, it would seem that they'd not gone far with Marie either, or they'd only recently crossed that particular line. Frankly, I didn't want to go into more detail on such bedroom antics, and thankfully the guys didn't seem to have any further interest in that. The silence stretched on for just a moment more until Brad cleared his throat.
"...So, skin to skin contact helps with combat fatigue?" asked Brad quietly.
"...It technically does, but I honestly feel that Lux is taking advantage of that fact to try and encourage me to pass my bloodline on faster…" I grumbled.
"Heh… Quite the hardship, eh? To be made to procreate with such beautiful fiancees…" joked Greg before becoming more serious. "I know you're worried about others treating Livia as something lesser for what you're doing, but do their opinions really matter in the end? Besides, what you're doing is pretty tame, at least from what Marie has described about Old World courtships."
"...Alright, you have a point, but counterpoint: How would you feel if the school was calling Marie a common wh-" I began.
"Okay, you make a damn good point…" winced Greg. "Still, if Livia's happy with what you're doing, then that should be a good thing, right?"
"Yeah, you're right," I smiled. "Honestly, for a relationship to go this well for me, it's just kinda shocking-"
"But Marie said that you charmed her friends left and right back in your first lives!" interjected Brad.
"I what now?!" I exclaimed. "No way in hell! I-...Actually, I was still kind of a dense idiot back in those days, so… I guess it might be possible…"
"Clearly your skills haven't dimmed in the slightest in your second life, even if you've become more aware of it," chuckled Julius. "So will three fiancees become four soon?"
"Honestly, I have no clue…" I frowned. "I can feel some chemistry with Deidre, and while Livia wholeheartedly approves, I don't want to make any sort of decision without Angie and Clarice agreeing as well. They've gotten on well during our tea sessions, but today will be a real test on whether they can get along or not. In the end, if Liv, Angie, and Clarice don't all say 'yes', that's going to be a 'no' from me."
"Well, here's hoping it goes well," chuckled Julius.
Any further discussion was interrupted by a chorus of panicked shouts as a disheveled band of three adventurers stumbled in. Their injuries were minor, but they'd clearly been in a heavy fight as they collapsed upon realizing they were safe. I ran up to one of them, kneeling down to him.
"What the hell happened?" I asked directly.
"Horde of goblins…" gasped the man. "...Lost our two rookies… Alzerian went back… Pointless sacrifice… they'll be dead soon even without the horde…"
"And you still left them there?!" snapped Greg. "What kind of Holfortian Adventurer abandons his comrades while they still breathe-"
"Greg, no time!" I barked, pulling up a mini-map on my HUD to scan for a large grouping of thermal signatures with Luxion's probes. "We need to move now!"
"...Right, moving…" nodded Greg as he gave one last disgusted look at the other adventurer.
We moved swiftly in formation down the corridor, with me taking point. We'd need serious healing once we got there, so I pulled up my comm to contact Livia. I could see her smile cheerfully at the prospect of receiving a call from me, and I briefly wished that it really was a social call.
"Hey Leon, how-" began Livia before seeing my expression and focusing. "...Where are we needed?"
"Seventh Floor Annex," I replied quickly. "Goblin Horde. Multiple Casualties. We're en route to the location now."
"Copy," replied Livia crisply. "On our way as well."
I shut off the comm with a sense of satisfaction. At the very least, we'd have reinforcements in case things got hairy in the cave. Goblins, on their own, were not terribly dangerous opponents, but… there were often a hell of a lot of them. They weren't terribly smart, but they could coordinate. Maybe a meter tall, humanoid, with green and gray skin, and yellow frog-like eyes, they basically looked like a standard sort of fantasy RPG goblin stereotype, complete with the primitive, and in some cases salvaged, weapons. Crowd control would be the name of the game to convince them to move on to better targets.
We entered the annex to see a swarm of about sixty or so goblins facing down a single adventurer. I could see a dark haired man in adventuring gear attempting to fend off the goblins with a jammed pump-action shotgun, a shell stovepiped in the action of the gun. It was a battle of attrition as the goblins advanced forward, closer and closer to the man and his unconscious comrades. I let off a burst into the horde, causing the yellow-eyed creatures to drop to the ground, some from fear and others from bullet holes. Greg and Julius took point in driving them back, with Brad assisting with offensive spell-casting. I turned to the man that was still standing, drawing one of my sidearms and presenting it to him.
"I assume you know how to use one of these?" I quipped. "Thirteen rounds per mag, semiauto only. Already has one in the chamber."
"It'll do until we can get these pests under control," grinned the man. "Glad for the assistance."
"Happy to provide it," I replied with another burst from my PDW into the crowd of goblins.
As soon as fresh reinforcements had arrived, the goblins reconsidered whether their targets were easy prey. My first burst with the PDW taking down ten of them before they could react was even more convincing, and each subsequent burst took down seven to ten more each time. By the time Julius, Greg, and Brad had made their sixth kills each, the goblins fled in full retreat. I quickly motioned to Brad and Greg to start administering first aid before turning to the one adventurer still standing, clearly the aforementioned "Alzerian".
"We've got a healer that can use Light Magic really well on the way, so your comrades should pull through alright," I explained. "Now that we're not fighting for our lives, I imagine introductions are in order."
"I'm sure it's probably the least I can do for the guys who saved my ass," chuckled the Alzerian. "Name's Serge Sara Rault, from Alzer. And you are?"
"Leon Fou Bartfort, at your service," I grinned, popping my helmet off to look the man in the eyes.
...Yes, yes I know that was a cruel move to put a cliffhanger right there, but it was necessary to set up this particular element without breaking the flow of the next three chapters too much. I promise, the resolution will be worth the wait, and it does set up an important difference for the Alzer arc.
While I wanted to jump right into the School Trip, I felt that it was important to tie up a few loose ends and have a segment that acts as a decrescendo before we hit the Volume 2 finale. Plus, we have fluff with the girls, so that's a definite positive.
I've already started work on the next chapter, but I will say that it's probably going to be near the end of January/start of February. Thanks again for reading, and have a Happy New Year!