Chapter 33 – Escalation
Another day came and went. They were getting closer to the Wave.
It looked like Kuromo's rapid growth had slowed down considerably. He might grow leaps and bounds again at level 40, but that was an issue for later. As of now, the main part of his body was larger than an entire horse, and a huge one at that—that didn't include his neck and head, wings, and tail. He was more than able to hunt monsters on his own, which he did with great enthusiasm. From what Grim knew, this forest wasn't home to anything that could give Kuromo a hard fight, so Reina was fine letting him go off on his own.
Vyrdrun was able to hold his own against Grim, thanks in no small part to his great stats. Parrying was his go-to form of defense instead of dodging, mostly due to his larger size. Still, a proper weapon was needed. A few more suitable spears were dropped, but nothing that was specifically made for someone of his size.
In physical combat, Reina was getting better at guarding against Grim's assault. Now, instead of two strikes to send her tumbling to the ground, she was up to four. It wasn't a constant stream of knockdowns, since they spent a lot of time going over forms and techniques. Plus, getting the crap kicked out of her made it easier to deal with pain in the long run.
On the magic side, Reina felt like she hadn't made any progress. Maria assured her that doing what she did was just fine. That wasn't how wizards normally did things, but Reina wasn't a wizard, or even really a mage. The Ritual Implement sidestepped a few things when it came to using magic, so a slightly different approach to the higher forms of magic was necessary.
On the personal front, specifically with Maria, there was also no progress. Reina tried the subtle approach on figuring out what exactly was bothering Maria, but that ended up bearing no fruit. Though, she wasn't really one for subtlety, so that came as no surprise.
However, Reina wasn't completely oblivious. It should have dawned on her before what the problem was. After all, now they had a room to themselves where anything could happen. Maria was obviously concerned about holding herself back without talking about her two secrets.
And now, Reina would confront that issue. Thankfully, she had the opportunity. Kuromo was lounging in the main area in front of the magical fireplace. Reina quietly asked him to stay out of the room this night, giving a snort in response. He didn't move from his spot, so Reina took that as an affirmative.
Reina and Maria entered their room, got Reina's armor off, and started preparing for bed.
"Maria." Reina said as the older woman used her spell on Reina's unbraided hair. After a day of intense sparing, sweat and mud had gathered. Reina was more than able to use Prestidigitation on her armor and clothes, but Maria insisted on working with her hair. Not that Reina minded, since it was quite relaxing.
"Hm?" Maria hummed, sitting behind Reina on their bed. "What is it?"
"Can we talk?" Reina asked. Already, she was beginning to second guess her decision. Making plans in her head was easy enough, but putting them into practice was something else.
"Sure. What's up?" Maria continued with her work.
"Are you… will you eventually tell me what's been bothering you?"
She could feel the magic waver from behind for a moment before it continued.
"It's really nothing, Boss." Maria said quietly.
Reina didn't believe that for a second. "Is it about what you wanted to tell me before?"
This time, the spell completely failed, prompting Maria to start it again.
"…Yes." Maria murmured in reply.
"Is there anything I can do to convince you not to worry about it?" Reina asked.
Even without looking, Reina could tell Maria shook her head. "Sorry, Boss, but it's not that simple."
That was a pretty likely answer.
"All done!" Maria called out after another minute of silent work. Reina's hair was now free of today's grime.
"Thanks." Reina ran her fingers through her hair. It would stay loose throughout the night and be braided again in the morning. Maria was always the one to do it. The woman clearly liked playing with Reina's hair. Reina found it to be quite pleasant, so she had no complaints about it.
Before Reina could start speaking again, a pair of arms wrapped around her. "Maria?"
The taller woman leaned into Reina, resting her chin on the smaller one's shoulder. "I will tell you about it, Boss."
Reina hummed and brought her hand to Maria's cheek. "I know. But if it's hurting you, I'd like to be able to do something." She turned slightly to kiss Maria's other cheek.
The smile that flashed on Maria's face quickly fell into a frown. "It's just…I know you said you'd be okay hearing what I have to say, but…"
Maria took in a deep breath to steady herself.
"This is really big, okay? I want to tell you. I want to get this off my chest and not have to worry about it anymore. I want it to mean nothing to you, just to feel the relief from it all for worrying over nothing."
She gave Reina a squeeze.
"And thinking about one secret got me thinking about the other. I'm not really sure which would be worse. It's not like I can do anything about either of them except pretend they don't exist. They won't be a problem if I don't bring them up, but then I'll know I'm hiding something important from you."
Maria shifted, moving her face out of Reina sight and placing her forehead to the back of Reina's.
"I wish this was as easy as using magic for me. Hell, I wish it was easy as going into battle. I don't know why it can't be. You're the first person I loved outside of my family. I just want to be sure you can accept what I have to say before I risk what we have."
The room fell into silence. The slight noise from the main room couldn't make it through the magically created walls. It was just the two of them on the bed, one being held by the other.
"Maria." Reina said calmly.
"Yes, Boss?" Maria moved her head back to look at Reina.
Turning her head slowly, Reina gazed at Maria over her shoulder with wide eyes. "Did you just say you love me?"
"I…" Maria's mouth hung open. Her eyes shifted about as her face heated up. Swallowing, she lowered her head slightly. "Yes."
It happened in an instant. Reina was on top of Maria, her hands against the bed next to Maria's face. Black hair spilled over her shoulders, draping over Maria and mixing with her own violet hair.
She stared down at the woman below her. A pair of blazing red eyes gazed back up nervously. Reason was being overwritten. Reina knew Maria was dealing with something involving her secret—due to which they agreed not to go too far—even if the reason for the problem escaped her—but hearing those words from Maria…
Leaning down, Reina swiftly stole a kiss from her lips. And then another. One arm moved forward until her elbow touched the bed, giving her more support. The other slid closer, cupping Maria's cheek as her fingers grazed violet hair.
Her tongue danced across Maria's lips before moving in. A muffled groan emanated from curvy woman. Maria's legs squeezed the one Reina had propping her up between them. That only encouraged Reina to be more aggressive.
Reina turned the two of them to the side, allowing her to more easily hold Maria close. A pair of shirts were all that kept them separate, but they weren't enough to conceal everything. Reina released Maria's tongue and placed her lips against her cheek, trailing kisses down her neck and collarbone. Maria gasped as Reina's lips touched the top of her breast, arching her back and pressing closer to Reina.
"Mph! Boss…" Maria breathed out heavily.
With a soft pop, Reina pulled back and looked down. A small, red mark showed itself on Maria's chest.
Grinning at what she'd done—and what she planned on doing—Reina brushed Maria's hair to the side and leaned close.
"Take off your shirt." Reina whispered into Maria's ear.
She felt Maria shiver in her embrace.
"Okay."
~Forging Legends~
Groaning loudly, Reina woke up from her slumber. She felt tired and sore, but oddly content. When she tried to stretch, only one arm was able to extend. She found the other one was held against her side, as well as something warm and heavy against her chest.
She looked down to find Maria with her arms wrapped tightly around her.
Having Maria pressed up against her side felt like heaven, but it also gave way to a sense of dread. She remembered what they started to talk about yesterday, and where that ended up leading them. Or, rather, what it led Reina into doing.
"Crap. I guess those stories I overheard my classmates talking about were true." The ones involving boys acting like wolves and pouncing came to mind. Granted, she wasn't a boy, but she felt it was applicable.
She didn't have much time to contemplate her situation as Maria began to stir. The woman blinked wearily until her eyes trailed up to meet Reina's wide ones. A look of realization came over her face as she pulled herself up, covering herself with the bedsheet and leaving Reina exposed.
Even if it was for a moment, Reina could make out a few things. First was the curves of Maria's body before they were covered. Second, and more startling, were the large number of blemishes on Maria's body. She didn't get a good look before they were covered, but not all of them were. Around Maria's neck and the top of her chest alone were dozens of red marks.
Reina covered her mouth and looked away, her hand warming as her face heated up. "Oh my god, what did the contract with the Fire Spirit make me do!?" It was a halfhearted accusation at best. She knew enough to say it didn't make her do anything she didn't want to do in the first place.
"Boss…" Maria's quiet voice felt so loud in this room. Reina looked at her, Maria's gaze unable to meet her own. "Do you regret what we did?"
Reina swallowed. Her feelings conflicted with one another. There wasn't time to sort them out, not when Maria was sitting there waiting for a response. The woman huddled closer to herself, gripping the sheet tightly. Reina sat up on the bed, wishing she had something to cover herself with. There were the pillows, but she couldn't bring herself to grab one just then.
"Only if I made you feel worse." She answered honestly. She didn't mean to go that far, even if she wanted to. Such a thing could only put more pressure on Maria. That was something Reina didn't want to do.
As she studied Maria's lack of reaction, Reina noticed marks on her own body out of the corner of her eye. They mostly centered on and around her chest, but she could tell from the aching that they reached around her neck as well. She wanted to hide, both herself and the marks, but she felt doing so might make things worse right now.
"Did you mean what you said?" Maria asked hesitantly, her face becoming hidden by the bedsheet. "When you said…you loved me too?"
Reina could feel her face heat up further. She didn't remember saying that, but the details of last night were a bit hazy.
The feeling in her chest…was that love? Maria was certainly beautiful, there was no doubt. The woman had grown on her immensely. Sleep wasn't satisfying without her pressed up against her. She liked spending time with Maria. She wanted to stay close to Maria. And the thought of not having Maria nearby was almost painful.
"…I do." Reina said after swallowing her nerves. "I love you."
Maria nodded and slowly let her eyes look at Reina's. "You're stuck with me now, Boss. Even if it takes a long time, you don't get to be mad at what I have to say. Okay?"
Reina reached over and placed her hand over one of Maria's. "Okay. I promise."
If there was any real doubt in her mind, Reina couldn't see herself doing what she did last night. If Maria had any bad intentions for her, she wouldn't have brought anything up in the first place.
Maria loosened the sheet around her, showing off more skin. Reina could see just how much they'd done last night. Stomach, shoulders, chest, thighs…there were marks everywhere. Reina's mouth hung open at the display.
It was around this time that Reina noticed another detail about the bed they sat on. A few damp spots were splattered on the wide area, including one right next to her. It wasn't hard to figure out what they were, and Reina could only blush even more fiercely at the thought.
"You know, Boss, doing that to me last night probably wasn't the smartest move." Maria said coyly, giving a small smile.
"Sorry!" Reina practically shouted. "It's just…when you said that…" She really couldn't describe what came over her.
"Well, I do prefer living in the moment, and the moment was great." Then, Maria let out a laugh. It was soft, but it was accompanied by the most brilliant smile on the violet-haired woman's face. "It's funny how a few words did that to you~."
Reina couldn't help but smile back. "Well, at least she seems happy now. I'll have to make sure I'm prepared for whatever she has to say."
The sheet around Maria fell completely, giving Reina a full view. She watched as the beautiful woman slowly slid up next to her. Maria's hand glided up Reina's arm, slipping down her side and pressing firmly against her lower back. As their hips touched, Maria's other hand came up and pulled Reina toward her, her face resting against Maria's chest.
"I love you~." Maria cooed into Reina's ear, sparking an intense desire to repeat last night.
"I—" Reina had to actively fight against that desire. "I love you, too." She kept her voice just above a murmur.
"Hmmm~." Maria hummed happily as her hand lazily stroked up and down Reina's back.
It was true bliss.
Doing everything they did last night, there was no way morning hadn't already come. Reina knew that for a fact, since she had the Wave timer in her status. There was less than a full day left before they would be teleported to the site of Lespax's Wave.
Reina's body was pressed closer to Maria as the stroking stopped.
"Boss." There was a tense edge to Maria's voice. Reina couldn't look up to see it, still held firm against her chest.
"What is it?" Reina asked tentatively.
"I…" There was a brief shudder as Maria took in a breath. "I'm…a noble."
The silence was back, but Maria gripped her more tightly before she quickly spoke.
"I'm not using you for anything, I swear! Not for that! I mean, I still want to visit spirits with you, but not for prestige or social standing or my family. I haven't spoken with them in years, and that's not going to change anytime soon. I'm not going to take you before them. I don't even want you to know who they are. But, I know if you were to meet, you'd probably see we were related at a glance."
Her words continued to spill out as she kept Reina firmly planted on her chest.
"If they knew I was with the Spirit Forger, I'm sure they'd want to use you. And if they couldn't, they might try to do something. I'd never let that happen. If they tried, I'd…" Her voice hitched as she trembled.
Reina found a moment to push herself away. She looked at Maria, tears in the taller woman's eyes.
"I'd never let them hurt you." Maria spoke, still holding onto Reina's sides.
Reina looked at her and saw the promise in her eyes, the conviction in her voice. Without wasting a moment, she leaned up and kissed Maria. Crimson eyes widened before closing, leaning into the kiss.
When they separated again, Reina held Maria's face in her hands. "I believe you." Reina said with a smile.
Maria could only smile back and hug her again.
It wasn't hard to accept, much easier than it would have been weeks ago, or even earlier this week. Nobles and those in a position of power have shown what they're willing to do with it. Contrary to what first impressions would lead her to believe, Reina saw Grim as an example of a good noble, if only somewhat.
There were good nobles out there, King Tarik of Lespax being another example. Despite his stated desire for her to not venture to Keston, he still provided the means to do so; the situation they found that city in Gathana in was irrelevant. It was just a matter of finding those good nobles, a task Reina found herself helplessly inadequate for. Luckily, she now had two nobles to help her through that, one of them being permanent.
~Forging Legends~
Once they were refreshed, clothed, and in Reina's case armored up, the pair left the room and entered the main area.
A soft growl came from the side. Kuromo stared at them, mostly at Maria.
"Enough of that now." Reina placed her hands on her armored hips as she stared at the dragon. "Why are you so jealous? I hold you all night long and pet you during the day."
Maria chuckled, most of her body hidden by the cloak she wore. "Dragons are greedy, Boss. He can never have enough~. That, and you didn't hold him last night." She held a hand to her face. "Well, it was a rather special night~."
"Maria!" Reina softly hissed, failing to hold back the blush on her face.
"What~?" Maria coyly asked. "As a fellow noble being, I'm sure Kuromo isn't too pleased with you paying attention to another~."
"Hm." Grim made soft noise, but Reina paid it no mind.
She looked back to Kuromo. "Thank you for spending the night out here. You can sleep with us going forward, but…there might be nights where I need you to sleep alone." She whispered the last part.
What can she say? Despite being a little tired from last night, she had a strange amount of energy. Not to mention the fact that the parts she did remember were wondrous and needed to be repeated.
"Gau!" Kuromo protested, but Reina held firm.
"This isn't a request." She said resolutely. "But, as a reward, I'll make you some treats for those nights. I have something in mind, but it'll have to wait until after Lespax."
The food in question was something Reina really missed from her old world: chocolate. She remembered the first time she had something similar here, that being the concoction Vyrdrun gave her the morning after she got soaked in the violet rain. She hadn't found anything else like it on their travels, but they did come across terricot trees near the Levitation spirit. Their bark was used in the potion and was the source of the flavor, and Reina put a lot of it into her weapon's gem. A visit to an hourglass would let her retrieve it. All she would need then was a few more ingredients and a place to properly cook.
Reina was no esteemed baker, but she learned a decent amount about making chocolate. If she'd ever given one of her batches to a boy—or a girl, for that matter—from her world, she'd be in a relationship in a heartbeat. That was no boast. Her gaming group loved her chocolate, even grumpy Bo admitted its deliciousness.
"Gau." Kuromo seemed placated by her promise, snaking his head forward and bumping her armored chest.
"Good boy." Reina gave him a smile and patted his head before sitting at the table.
Vyrdrun and Grim were already eating breakfast, an assortment of wild fruits and the remainder of yesterday's dinner.
The meal proceeded pleasantly enough, Maria trying to feed bits of food to Reina with the utensils conjured as part of the mansion. Despite not wanting to flaunt the newest development of their relationship, Reina accepted the bite-sized food. And, of course, Maria waited expectantly for it to be reciprocated. It was.
"So then," Grim spoke up, arm on the table as he tapped his fingers against it, "I have something to say."
Reina turned to look at him. "What is it?"
He lifted his hand and pointed at both her and Maria with two fingers. "If yesterday is going to repeat itself, the wizard needs to strengthen the walls."
Reina flushed at his words. Maria was no better, her face turning scarlet as she pulled down her hat.
"I…I'll see what I can do." Maria said, keeping her face hidden.
"Good then." Grim nodded, returning to his meal.
Reina wished she could retort, saying they weren't that loud, but she couldn't actually recall. She also didn't want this to be a topic of conversation, so she dropped it.
The meal progressed smoothly after that. Reina knew she'd be in for another day of getting hit with the dull side of Grim's cleaver. Since the Wave was tomorrow morning, she expected it to be a lighter day.
The group of five left the mansion, entering the small hut Vyrdrun set up. They exited the building and Vyrdrun collapsed it with his spell. An hour or so of travel and then they would start their training and hunting anew.
"Wait." Grim gripped the cleaver on his back before they even started to move. "Something's off."
With her helmet in hand, Reina secured it on her head. "A monster? I'm not sensing anything." She even added MP to her armor to extend the range of blind-sense, still not picking up anything.
"I'm not sure…" Grim had his cleaver out and ready as he looked around.
Reina was tempted to bring out her spirit, but opted for her sword form first. She could use Deft Strike and then swipe with the sword, conserving her SP until it was needed. Vyrdrun had a spear ready, and Maria with her wand. Kuromo stood tall, eyes alert.
Still, she couldn't sense anything around them; not with her armor's ability, nor her own senses. It was strange that Grim picked up something while she and the others didn't. "Well, he trained with a hero for a long time. I'm not surprised he developed some killer instincts."
There was a rush of air. A presence just came into range. It didn't move from the edge, but simply materialized near them. Before Reina could turn to see what had gotten the drop on them—
"Boo!"
Just as Reina looked to where the voice came from, Grim swung his cleaver. She could barely see the movement of his weapon. As quickly as it moved, it was stopped by the backs of a pair of scaled claws. The owner of the claws was pushed back slightly, shaking them out.
"Ah…that stung." A girl stood, now off to the side, looking over her claws. "You're pretty strong, huh?"
"Lola!" Reina shouted, running in between her and Grim. The Hascain noble looked ready to charge. "Stop! Don't fight her! She's one of the Demon Lord's kids!"
Grim kept his stern gaze on the girl before allowing it to shift to Reina. "You know her?"
Reina nodded. "Yeah. We've…had some meetings."
"Big Sis and I had lunch last week!" Lola helpfully added, shaking out her claws.
"And you didn't think to mention this?" Grim asked, easing his stance.
Reina rubbed the back of her head, though her helmet prevented the contact. "I mean, we're just traveling together until we reach Hascain, right?"
Grim clearly wasn't accepting her reasoning, if the look on his face was any indication. In truth, Reina didn't believe what she was saying either.
"My offer to travel with you doesn't end with reaching Hascain. If you'll have me for longer, then I will stay." Grim returned his cleaver to his back. "But if I'm to do so, I will need to know these things."
"I understand." Reina breathed easy, seeing how the situation was resolved, for the moment.
She really did think Grim would stop traveling with them once she registered to Hascain's hourglass. It was part of the reason she didn't bother telling him about her encounters with the Demon Lord and his children. She wasn't hiding it, per se, since she'd already told the churches about her first encounter with Derdir and his family, as well as her encounter with Lola and Maphai the day of the church meeting.
If she had to place her reasoning, it was that Grim said Demon Lords had been a bigger problem for Hascain than other countries. She wasn't exactly on good terms with any of Derdir's children—except maybe Lola—but there was a somewhat mutual understanding. She didn't want to sour her relationship with Grim by mentioning that.
As Reina looked back to Lola, she considered how much benefit having Grim in the party would be. The girl licked the back of her claw, where a wound was present. It wasn't much, a couple inches long line of red, same as her other claw. The fact that Grim was able to hurt her at all was more than impressive. A combination of his weapon, his skill, and his level, which he previously informed her was at 67.
"Surprised to see me?" Lola asked, looking up from treating her wound.
Reina shook her head. "Not really. I was wondering how one of you was going to join us for the Wave."
"You're surprisingly calm about this." Grim voiced.
"The Spirit Forger is good at dealing with things that pop up." Reina parroted what Lola once told her. The look on the girl's face said she knew where that line came from.
"Big Sis gets it!" Lola beamed at her.
Reina returned a small smile. "Here, let's get that healed. Maria, do you mind?"
The woman in question stood stock still, watching the exchange. "S-Sure, Boss." She slowly approached and gave a casting of Healing Hands.
Reina could already tell she had a great deal to speak about with Grim. The look on his face demanded answers, ones she was obligated to give with the current situation.
"Well, the Wave is supposed to be early tomorrow morning, so this works out well." Reina distracted herself with that thought. She looked more closely at Lola. "Wait, is that…"
"Ah, much better." Lola spoke as she looked up at Maria. She leaned in and sniffed the woman, causing her to back up. "You smell like Big Sis and fruit."
Maria sputtered, trying to form words. It was the combination of last night's activity and Maria's use of Prestidigitation, which she could use to add scents to what she cleaned. It was something Reina still wanted to learn from her.
"Lola." Reina stepped forward to give her girlfriend time to think. "Is that Maria's staff on your back?"
"Yep! Probably!" Lola pulled the weapon in question off, as well as a traveling pack. "There's some of your things, too, since they have your scent on them."
Reina wasn't quite sure what to make of that. While not the most pressing at the moment, she couldn't ignore the fact that this girl had smelled her clothing, as she was holding the articles up to show off. Grim gave Reina a strange look, one she felt the need to defend herself from. More importantly, however, was how she got these things in the first place.
"You went to the Violet Storm Church?" Reina asked. "Did you…kill them?"
That could only add to the problems they currently had with the churches.
"Oh, no." Lola shook her head. "One of Daddy's imps went there and got your things. Well, except the nipeigh and cart. Those were too big to sneak out."
"His imps?" Reina questioned.
In response, Lola looked over her shoulder and waved toward her. A short distance away, something moved. Slowly, a near-translucent silhouette gained color as it came forward. If Lola didn't just say what it was, Reina would have said the creature roughly half her height was a goblin of some kind.
While its skin was green, it was also leathery, almost like a lizard. It had four fingers and toes, though they were shaped into claws. It wore next to nothing, other than a small pelt over its groin and a single belt that held nothing. The pointed ears on its head and long, gangly limbs drew her attention, but what was most noticeable were its sickly yellow eyes.
"Mistress?" The imp asked in a grating voice, head cocked to the side as it stood before Lola.
"Say 'hi' to Big Sis." Lola pointed at Reina.
"Hi, Big Sis." The imp waved at her, flexing its fingers.
"Hi…" Reina gave a halfhearted wave back.
"What is that?" Vyrdrun asked, stepping forward and pointing at the imp.
Lola turned and smiled up at him. "One of Daddy's imps. He made them, lots and lots of them. The green ones are good at sneaking and hiding."
Probably sensing it was no longer needed, the imp backed up and disappeared, camouflaging into the foliage as if it was never there to begin with.
"I could not sense it." Vyrdrun muttered.
Alarm bells rang in Reina's head. Vyrdrun was confident he would be able to sense anyone invisible that was nearby. He was able to sense active magic items and spells, even the changes in the atmosphere that indicated violet rain. Yet that imp, which was well within 30 feet of them, was completely hidden.
Reina's shoulders slumped as she quickly calmed down. It wasn't a new feeling, just another instance of what she felt, at least in the back of her mind. She wasn't in control of the situation at all. It was easy to forget at times, but that was the truth of it. Derdir could find them at any time and there was nothing they could do about it. That included when they teleported somewhere that was days away and hid in a forest. Whether it was through actual spies, such as these imps, or the sustained use of scrying to view them from a large distance, as she had learned this world had, Derdir would know.
The question was, how much did he hear from them? How much did he know? And, how much did he actually care? Even now, she was no real threat to any of his children, let alone him.
But what about when she was? What would he do then? When she could go against whatever plans he had, how would he make her comply?
There was one obvious answer.
"Hm?" Maria looked down and then met Reina's eyes. "Something wrong, Boss?"
Reina pulled up her arm, Maria's fingers interlaced with her own. "I just wanted to hold your hand."
If Derdir was to compel Reina in some way, it would be through the people she cared about. And who would he use? The Gromnar who saved her life and has been a good companion and friend, her pet dragon she's had since he hatched, a recently added Hascain noble, or the woman she's in a relationship with and just spent the night with quite intimately.
The answer was obvious. Just like how Maria promised to keep Reina safe from anything her family might want to do, she vowed to keep the woman she loved safe from the Demon Lord.
~Forging Legends~
A metal fist swung down, blocked nearly effortless by a heavy blade.
"Pathetic." Maphai uttered, diverting the iron arm to the side. She gripped the arm with one hand and roared, flipping the golem she fought over her shoulder and onto the ground.
The metal in the golem groaned in response. Its limbs slowly moved about, trying to stand itself up again. Maphai had had enough of that. She jumped up and drove her greatsword into the golem's chest, ceasing all movement from it permanently.
"Another failure." She let out with a sigh, turning to look at what it was guarding. A small cave set in the plateau was now left unguarded.
When Father tasked her with looking into these places with Goalith, she didn't expect the golems guarding them to be so weak now. It hadn't even been two weeks, yet these automatons had degraded to the point where she didn't have to put in any real effort. Father's recent discovery prompted their intervention.
Normal adventurers would still have a problem with the golems for now, but a group of renowned ones would be able to dispatch it easily enough. Truthfully, Maphai wasn't all that concerned with that prospect. She knew what lie within all these places. If foolish humans wanted to try and use that power, they were free to do so. Still, it was a concern of Father's, so she would do as she was asked.
But no, what Maphai was really doing these past few days was blowing off steam. Ever since Meruthia returned with that human boy, she acted all smug about it. Goalith and Lola instantly sided with her. Father did too, though he didn't say as much out loud. Instead, he asked Aermith, their newest sibling, to weigh in on the matter.
Her younger brother examined both sides of the argument of whether or not to allow the human to join them. Of course, that was merely to demonstrate what he had been learning. In truth, Maphai new father wasn't going to turn down Meruthia. She almost never requested anything and always did what she was asked, as little as that was. Besides, Father brought in other human children as well.
Perhaps Maphai voicing her objection didn't help. After Father learned about her miniscule intimidation of the Ritual Implement Hero, he wasn't too pleased. Her argument of her simply glaring at the human girl wasn't believed.
"It was more than a glare." He'd said. Lola saw what she did and tried to speak to the girl, but the hero didn't seem to notice. Of course Lola would tell Father about it.
In the end, the Ritual Implement Hero wasn't permanently damaged, so the issue was dropped. Father's desire to test this young hero was baffling, but it didn't concern Maphai. If that's what Father wanted, it would be so.
That didn't mean she had to be pleased about it. She was just glad Father didn't order her to fight in Lespax's next Wave with the human, plus the other two humans she seems to have acquired. Though, Meruthia might have been mistaken. Just because the girl took that Hascain noble with her when she teleported her party away didn't mean anything. And then Meruthia went around and found a human boy to bring home.
Every time that memory crossed her mind, Maphai felt her anger renewed. It decreased each time, but it was still present. It didn't matter in the end. The boy would go through the same process just like the others and then he'd cease to be human. That was good enough for her.
For now, she had to close off this area so humans wouldn't enter the cave. She still had a job to do and it wouldn't do to let any foolish human acquire the dark power resting within.
Author's Notes:
This was not my original intent with this chapter, but, well, here we are. I think the scene was a bit fast, but it should still be alright.
Lola has temporarily joined the Hero's party. The next Wave is coming soon. I wonder what's going to happen there.