Chapter 108
Even after Kuro had landed on the assassin, it still took a little doing before the two of them killed him. He used some kind of magic to make himself impervious to damage...
But Kodori had shown the two of them what to do when your normal attacks couldn't hurt someone.
And to be honest... They weren't sure they did kill him. Yes, Motoyasu put his spear through the man's chest, and Kuro's claws had reduced most of his limbs to bloody rags. But he just laughed (gurgled with amusement), dissolved into a weird black gunk, then faded to nothing. Aside from their wounds, there was no evidence they'd been attacked at all. Even his weapon was gone!
"Master... I don't feel very good." Kuro said after the black gunk had vanished. "My head..."
With a puff of personal smoke, Kuro shrank down to her humanoid form. She still had a bleeding head wound, and a few other wounds aside. Motoyasu caught her one handed, his wounded shoulder making part of his arm numb and unreliable.
"I got you. Lemme get the first aid kit..." In this world it was really just potions, "I don't know that status effect... but this should work."
Kodori had said it wasn't as good as the 'cure all' she made back home, but Motoyasu applied some of the weird smelling paste to the cut on Kuro's forehead, and the little status effect icon she had on her 'party member status' bar started to blink.
"Oh... maybe a permanent bleed effect?" He mumbled, working a cork out of a healing potion vial and carefully smudging that over Kuro's wound.
"ow... be more gentle." She complained weakly, though her hands gripped the cloth around the edges of his breastplate.
"Sorry kiddo." He said, "Can you help me get this armour off? That L'arc guy said it was the best stuff in town, but that spike almost ignored it."
The status effect icon vanished, and she started to move to help Motoyasu. "He was super strong." She said after a moment. "And he ruined dinner." She added with a grumble, accepting the jar of 'cure all paste' and putting it on the seeping wound on Motoyasu's shoulder.
"Ow... it's working at least." Motoyasu carefully moved his shoulder, "Kodori!" He called out as his status screen popped up with the 'hero proximity warning'.
"Of course you get into trouble when my back is turned..." She paused, took a good look around, "What happened? Kuro? Lemme."
In the three paces between the edge of the firelight where Kodori appeared, and where Motoyasu and Kuro were sitting, she had pulled out all kinds stuff from the Book Shield at her hip. Bandages, a pair of potions, water skin, towel...
"Well..." Motoyasu started, holding his hands palms up to accept things to hold while Kodori worked.
Kodori's summation on the incident?
"Crap."
"Yeah." Motoyasu said, his shoulder bandaged and smelling like mint as he stirred a new pot over the fire. "If I had to guess? That guy was higher level than us, and that weapon was something special. Not at our level of weapon, but you saw my armour."
Kodori, for lack of a better word, was 'fussing' over Kuro. Past first aid (Kuro was wearing a stylish skullcap bandage now), Kuro was getting her wings brushed after getting a headpat, careful pokes and prods, and a few other checks one does when testing for a concussion.
"And that vanishing into tar thing... He might be able to do the same thing as Kyo." Kodori sighed, "More and more pointing towards that theory..."
Kuro turned her human head around a near 180, like an owl. "What do you mean?" It was also here that her 'crown' feathers decided they would not be contained and managed to pop out of the bandage on her head.
Motoyasu ladled things into bowls, "Yeah, now I'm curious." He then grinned, "I forget the words you used. But late dinner, or second dinner, is served."
The two of them watched Kodori as she slowly stirred the stew in her bowl, clearly thinking about something.
"Back where I'm from." She started, "There are all kinds of legends about how 'life' goes through cycles. One of them..." She slowed down even further, a little smile creeping over her lips, "When a person dies, their soul waits at the end of the black river. The boatman comes to collect them, and poles his way upstream."
She took a little nibble of stew, nodding approval (to which Motoyasu did a little 'yes!').
"The boat full of souls is brought to the god of the underworld, and they are judged. Some, skip the wait, and simply turn around and swim back up the river. They forget everything, and are born into the world again. Most souls do this, not willing to face judgment, or knowing they will be judged poorly."
"Judged?" Kuro asked.
"Yes. The god of the underworld will look at his records, look at the soul, and give them a final reward." She held up a hand, palm up, then rested the back of her hand on her knee. "Some are simply too weak to travel onward, and become scribes, record keepers that endlessly help the lord of the dead. Some are sent to the burning fields, a barren place where nothing but fire and ash exist. Some go to the field of heroes. And some are chosen to serve in other ways, given meaningful work by the lord of the dead, though..." That smile came back, "Some of those just dust the hallways and rafters."
"Sounds like a weird place." Kuro said after a mouthful.
Kodori looked at Motoyasu as he was about to comment, her eyes seeming to glow with more than just reflected firelight. "There is no system like that here. It's how Kyo and maybe the guy who tried to kill you two, can do what they did."
Motoyasu's mouth clicked shut.
"So now what?" Motoyasu said after a moment of intense stew study (and pleasant stew eating).
"Head to Lurolona. I'm going to make a little surprise for this guy." Kodori frowned.
"Another one of those emeralds?" Kuro asked, what about the one you had?"
"That one is permanently part of Ost's tree. And the one I had Kyo in... well he's kind of still there."
Her smile made them both shudder. They didn't press further.
"Okay, then what? You tell the others?"
"Yeah. They're heading there now. Or should be. Thanks to Rishia, Itsuki is recovering well. And I almost didn't recognize Ren after all the work he's put in." Her smile softened, "And once the next Wave happens, I might finally be able to call home." Her right hand went to rest over her left.
"Hey that's awesome!" Motoyasu grinned, "Oh... How the heck to you get around so fast?"
"Well, I have the Shield, the Book, kind of. And the crystals I've been making after visiting Kizuna's world. I also have my own personal network now. Kind of... mostly... thanks to learning from Ethnobalt... I should have given him a hug... hmm, next time I visit I am going to."
"The trees too? And what do you mean 'kind of'?" Kuro asked.
"I can use the book, but only as a very powerful accessory. Not at full power. It knows I need it, and knows I will give it up when I don't, or the one who is supposed to have it needs it." She explained.
"You make it sound like they are alive." Motoyasu said, scratching his head.
The evasion of the topic was so obvious even Tetsu would have noticed, "Make best speed to Lurolona. You can use the portal to Melromarc so long as you walk the wagon through. It's a tight fit. But they'll understand." She tossed a little dome of crystal at Motoyasu, "If you need to escape another attack, use this. You'll leave the wagon behind though."
"Don't be too long then. Raphtalia is probably having a fit with you gone." Motoyasu looked at the pendant, "Huh..."
"Gone fishing, actually." Kodori smiled, "Anyhow." And she vanished with the sound of fluttering paper and the smell of ink.
(Fohl and Atla)
The tiger siblings spent their free time at the Hearth exploring. For one, it was to protect his sister. Yes, she could kick his butt any day of the week, except, maybe before breakfast (though, he would never ever let her skip a meal for a fight if he could help it, so he'd never know). But she was still his sister, and thus he kept as best a watch over her as was proper.
For the other, it was just how strange this place was. To Atla's eyes the former labyrinth was just as weird to her as it was to anyone else trying to get from one place to another. This door led here, that door led there, but then there was this door that led back? The energy of this little island 'prison' captured her curiosity. Since learning to fight and manipulate the her 'Spirit' energy under the tutelage of Elrasla Ragnarok, stuff like this made her thankful she was 'blind' to most of the normal things people saw.
So after the two of them went on their first little 'trip' with one of Kodori's mercenary bands and gained enough levels to not have some random Ball Rabbit eat them, Kodori said 'have fun but be safe'. Of course, they both had the proper safety equipment (Return Transcript crystals, all purpose 'not quite a Weapon' gem, potions etc.), but otherwise they'd been given free run of the place.
Speaking of the mercenaries. Some of them had a history with the tiger siblings. One, a former combat medic turned pit fighter, had given Atla a headpat and congratulated her on her recovery. Others wanted a rematch with Fohl, or congratulated him on managing to keep his sister alive so she could recover. It was a little awkward, sure, but it was a strange thing that happened in the arena, a kind of 'friendly animosity' that flipped when you were fighting, or not. Kodori had even commented that it 'reminded her of home'.
"I can't get over how weird this place is." Fohl mumbled as they cleaned up after a little skirmish. "The library we found had stuff I couldn't read! I thought I knew every language back home!"
"But this isn't our world." Atla sighed, a little exasperated at Fohl being so smart yet not sometimes. "Now that you mention that library however, I still think we should have gone through that gate in the far corner."
"The last time we went through a gate the survey group didn't scout, we had to retreat."
Atla put her 'all purpose' gem around her neck again and tucked it under her shirt, "But now we've had a class up, and are forty levels higher." She 'looked' around, her dim eyes seeing some of the hidden energy in the world around her, "Hmm, we're near some of the tree roots." Then, "You're just being too cautious brother."
Fohl stopped himself from saying 'because I have to protect my sister'. It was his usual excuse, but now that the two of them were 'equal' in terms of being able to care for themselves... So, "I know, I am a bit cautious. But only because you're reckless." He knelt down to 'look' where Atla was staring and put his hand to the floor. "Huh. I have no idea how Kodori's tree managed to grow without breaking this place apart."
"Oh?" Of course, Fohl kneeling next to her meant she could play with his ears. Payback for all those years of headpats while she was sick.
Fohl endured the sub-par headpats as was his brotherly duty. "Yeah, plants generally don't care what's around them, and just move stuff aside as they grow. With all this old stone work, weird twists and turns, and places that you can walk forward two steps and suddenly be walking backwards in the same direction..."
"Kodori mentioned her trees were special. And when I see some of the thinner roots, they look almost like webbing."
Fohl had to admit Atla was getting better at the ear scroofle, but never out loud. She'd probably stop if he said so. "Huh, maybe more like veins instead of roots? Finding space instead of making space." He stood slowly, "Where should we go now?"
As they explored, the two of them were coming to the same 'conclusion' about the weird nature of the Hearth, except from two different directions.
Fohl, more of a scholar than most would think, and very well travelled for someone his age, it was like seeing his home world 'in miniature'. The small mountain area right next to a flat plain, separated by a strip of barren lifeless soil you could jump over. A grand patch of forest next to a tiny little tundra, three steps of space between balmy and snow squall. A fresh water river that was fed by seemingly nothing, with a lush farmland on one side, and that weird barren ground on the other with a strip of desert just past that.
Back home, these things weren't nearly as prominent. But seeing it in miniature here, gave him a little more perspective to notice it on a grander scale all over the place back home.
Atla, with her unique perception of the world further trained by old lady Ragnarok, saw this place as twisted and wrong. It wasn't offensive or shocking, like seeing a beloved pet go on a bloody rampage. But everything she had learned through Hengen Musou was being challenged. The dragon veins here were all twisted. The strange melding of land and weird use of teleport gates further complicated everything she thought she knew about the topic.
Oh sure, being able to use that energy like she did back home was easy. This little place was smaller and the energy was easier to reach. Oh, except in places there was no energy at all. Like the barren strips of land all over the place. To Atla, those bits of land were almost like barriers to stop the energy flowing through the land from conflicting. Not only that, some of the energy was drastically different than what she thought it should be.
So, when Kodori asked what they thought of the place, they came to the same conclusion from two different angles.
Kodori aside her work, a small cube of quartz that was wrapped in black wire so thin it looked like spider web, and asked, "So now that the vacation is almost over, what do you think?"
"It's like someone took little bits of a world and squished them all together." Fohl said.
"And the gaps between areas where nothing grows, is acting like glue." Atla added.
Kodori smiled, looking a little like a proud parent and someone passing a test they were thinking they'd fail. "Well, if we all agree, it's probably right." She looked down at the little cube, nodded to herself, then said, "SITA prime?"
"But what does that mean?" Fohl asked.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Kodori asked as SITA prime (this one looked like all the others, except for the (Haruhime eye) green gem just below and between her delicate collar bones, also, that gem was slit like Kodori's eyes, not the 'human' eye the other Weapon gems had) appeared from one of the many workshop entryways.
"Yes boss?" She asked, walking over to stand between the siblings, "Ohhhh, new soul trap?"
"Yeah, need some more made. Motoyasu just fought someone who vanished much like Kyo did."
SITA prime seemed to take a step forward, except she hadn't moved, but instead another SITA stepped out of her. This one lacked a gem, but was every bit as adorable as the original. "Lemme just..." The new one and the original stepped forward, various little tools appearing in their hands while Kodori stepped out from behind the work station to speak to the siblings without the fairy in the way.
"Why wouldn't we want to know?" Atla asked, flawlessly picking up the conversation again.
Kodori looked across the room where a small black cube of snowflake obsidian rested on a little gold display stand. "I told him, and he finished his trip to insanity."
The two turned to look at Kyo's prison, then back to Kodori. "Please tell us."
"SITA? Lock the room." Kodori said.
The siblings blinked in surprise as the various doors of the room started to close, and the portals that led to different places stopped swirling with energy. Moments later, the only way into the room was through the titanic metal door, until that finally swung shut. "All done." SITA said.
"What...?" Fohl asked.
"Not everyone wants to hear this. Ost herself didn't want to know, and while they work for me, and are pretty good people, I don't fully trust Wolven and the others. At least, not with this." Kodori said, "Now, I might be wrong, but there is far too much pointing towards the theory." She stood, gave both SITA and SITA-two a pat on the back (making both their fox tails swish happily), and motioned for the siblings to follow her.
The workshop was built inside an old tower that was in the exact middle of this 'world'. From what the siblings had figured out, the Hourglass room and now closed 'outside entrance' to the 'world' was directly below them. But above them, accessible by an internal spiral staircase, was the upper floors of the tower. The teleport doors led to hidden rooms with no other entrances they could find, but the top of the tower was where Kodori had planted her tree.
But, as Fohl had figured out, that tree was special, and not only did it not bother anything already built, it was more like a symbiotic 'vine' that grew over the already existing trees that were threatening to rip the tower apart... Eventually, since trees weren't known for being quick about anything.
"When I started mucking the place out." Kodori started, "I had to be really careful. The guy who built this place made it to last, but nature would have eventually won. With the help of my third newest tree, HIDA and SITA, I've stopped the eventual collapse, and repaired just about everything that wasn't already reclaimed." She paused at a strange metal mesh wall, and pulled it aside, "Like this elevator."
The three stepped into a small square room Fohl could almost have laid down in, and Kodori rolled the mesh 'door' back. "What is this?" Atla asked.
"An Elevator." Kodori pushed a button, and with a little magical hum, the room started to ascend. "So, after making sure to really claim the place for myself, and that it wouldn't fall apart while I remodelled, I got to work. Got some extra hands, made this world's equivalent of a Legendary Weapon..."
"Who's adorable." Fohl and Atla said with the same energy HIDA and SITA would.
"And got to learning on how to leave. But, to do that, I had to understand the rules." Kodori smiled, "A good example of what I'm talking about, is something everywhere else I've been is called 'physics'. You'd consider them... laws of nature."
"Water is wet, rocks are heavy, things you drop fall to the ground?" Fohl guessed.
"The study of physics gets into the 'why is water wet, rocks heavy and why the ground attracts stuff''." Kodori said, the elevator stopping suddenly with a little metallic 'ding'. "Everything you see and do without magic, can be explained by physics. It's 'the rules of the physical'."
"Without magic?" Atla asked as Kodori slid the cage aside to let them out.
The top floor was thick with roots and vines, with flowers of every kind from every place growing all over the room. However, the stone of the floor was almost untouched, as well as a final spiral staircase leading to a little spot of light who's origin was not quite visible from where they were standing. There was also the sound of insects in the air.
"From what I've learned, magic has its own rules, but many of them still follow physics. The ones it doesn't follow, are usually called 'metaphysics'. But that's another ball of wax all together. Almost there."
They followed behind her as she went up the last staircase. "With you so far then... I think?" Fohl said, "Like when I cast fire magic, unless I focus the magic fades because it has no energy, except when I start a fire with it?"
Kodori turned suddenly, pointing at him, "Give this man a cookie! That is exactly what I'm talking about." Atla giggled at her brother's surprised face, then they two continued after Kodori. "But we'll get to that after I show you something."
They stepped out of an open door and on to a walkway that gave them a complete view of the 'world' they were on. Except, the world was...
Tiny.
The two of them stopped to take in the vista of all the places they'd wandered in the past few days. The weird jumbled ball of landscapes now in a wide portrait view for them. And all around the 'world' was water as far as the eye could see. The Hearth was an island.
"Past a certain point." Kodori said, "It's not water." Her voice made them look away and back to her, "Almost there, and it's almost dark too. Perfect."
She put a hand on both their shoulders as they walked across what was basically a parapet wall just wide enough for two people, to a little 'side tower'. Most of the stone was old, but the roof was clearly brand new. Sticking out of the top of the domed roof, was a telescope. Sadly, the giant tree engulfing the main tower limited its view by about 90 degrees.
"So, for various reasons, I got into astronomy." Kodori said, "Having visited three 'worlds' so far, something caught my eye."
"Navigation by stars?" Fohl asked.
"Indeed." The three entered the observatory to find the walls lined with all kinds of star charts, books, bits of books, and other such stuff you'd find in a hard core astronomy nut's room. "So, until nighttime, lemme explain some other stuff."
For the next half hour or so, Kodori explained some basic 'stuff' about physics. Simple things about energy, mass, conductivity, gravity... All stuff you'd learn in the early years in school. After that, she applied a little 'metaphysics' to it. How magic energy, or Ki, or 'spirit' could take the place of the energy needed for things like fire, ice, lightning or the like. And lastly, how 'energy' couldn't be destroyed, only changed until it could no longer be captured by what ever means you had on hand.
And she demonstrated that by making tea. Magic fire to boil water, steam expanding and pushing air around, and a little paper balloon filled with steam to make it float, that eventually lost its heat and eased itself to the ground.
"So... Why the lesson?" Fohl asked, sipping his tea, "I'll be honest, I've never really thought past 'it's always worked like this'. But now that I do..."
"Maybe my brother will become a scholar and stop being so protective?" Atla teased.
"Only when you find a husband and he can take over." Fohl mumbled.
"Put the lesson aside for the moment. Let's see..." Kodori sipped her tea and went to look at the wall, "Fohl, come look at this one. Oh, Atla, you too, but..." She went to a little desk and picked up a pair of simple wire framed glasses, "Look at it with these."
Fohl looked at the chart, "Oh, I know this pattern here... And here..." He pointed at a few star clusters, then turned to see Atla with the glasses, "Those look really cute." He said without thinking.
"I will only wear them for th... oh..." To Atla, who's eyes were mostly just blurry to everything but the 'energy' around her, the star map lit up with bright little dots. "How... I can see what's on the paper clearly?"
"Special ink, special lenses." Kodori applied one headpat, "But what you're seeing, is a star chart for what's over Lurolona as of... about ten days ago." While the two siblings looked, Kodori sat in a little chair attached to the telescope. She applied a bit of muscle to some cranks, turning the entire roof around, instead of moving just the telescope. "And..." She adjusted the tilt of the telescope, then some little dials, "Focus focus... There."
She hopped off the chair, and lifted Fohl into it since it was now a little too high to climb up to without a ladder (that was leaning on the wall by the door). "So I just... oh wow..." He kept his eye to the lens of the telescope, yet still managed a puzzled head tilt, "Wait..."
"Let Atla see." Kodori said, helping Fohl down, then Atla up, "You can take the glasses off for this, and..." Kodori had to reach way up to switch something near the eyepiece, "There."
"It's the same." Atla said.
"It is." Kodori said, "And that is just the surface of what I've found out."
She helped Atla down before plunking her rear down on a stool and sighing into her hands. "But how... why..." Fohl asked, trying to grasp what it meant.
"I could be wrong. But the stars above the 'worlds' are the same, just from different angles. Kizuna's world has the same stars too." She motioned to another of the big paper star charts on the wall. "And that is just the beginning."
The siblings hadn't known Kodori long. But she had never been dishonest, and had proven she knew an awful lot. She could do things the two of them had no concept of, yet could show them how to do it themselves within minutes, and get them to understand why it worked. But as she explained things now, pacing back and forth like a caged animal...
It sounded kind of crazy.
Yet, with every question they asked, she provided an explanation. And while she fully admitted, every step of the way, that she might be wrong, even the two of them could start to see the arrows pointing towards something very... strange.
Often, she would compare it to things she knew from 'back home'. And it made even less sense to the siblings, but again, more evidence, more examples...
"So... You think this, or rather, all these 'worlds' are fake?" Fohl asked.
"Not fake. Manufactured. Some of the books here..." She went to one of the shelves and took a book that was mostly just scraps of paper on a bit of leather binding. With care, she opened it, the parchment creaking like a dry leaf, "And so the world of Mirror, and world of..." She lowered the book so the other two could see, and yes, there was word rotted away, but the next words mattered more, "joined into one." Again with infinite care, she put the book away, then pointed out the window, "And you've seen it here, and between Siltvelt and Zeltobe."
"It is like glue!" The siblings said together.
"Yes. And that's not the only text I've found. So, when the Waves end, though, I'm not sure what 'ending' it means..."
"We kill their heroes, or just survive?" Fohl guessed.
"Could be a third option too. But when they end, two worlds become one. There are other mentions in other books around here someplace. But yes. Another one, is the monsters." She shook her head, "This one, I'm kind of already familiar with, but it's done in a weirder way here."
"Oh?" The two of them said.
"Well, have you ever seen an animal give birth?" Kodori waved it away, "Eggs. Every animal or monster, comes from an egg. Or simply appears from a nest underground. Or is left over from a Wave, then eggs again." The two nodded, "So, tell me how every humanoid gives birth?"
They paused, then blushed.
"Exactly. Why is it different? My best guess? Most monsters are fake, while the people are real." Again, she waved a hand, "Fake isn't the right word, but the closest one. Some outliers exist however, like animals I've created. Like the bees. Those came from eggs, but once I poked at them they started their own cycle of egg, larva, pupa, adult."
"But..." The two then asked the biggest question any philosopher asked. "Why?" Followed by the one scientists asked. "How?"
"I can only, maybe, answer the second one. Souls." Kodori said, perking up, "Aw crap. We have to go."
"What? Why?" The two asked in perfect sync.
"SITA." Kodori held a little bit of glass to her lips, "Release lock down, emergency recall for Clive and Usa."
"Message sent." Came the reply, "What's wrong?"
"Lurolona is under attack."
(Raphtalia)
Sadeena had taken Raphtalia, Keel and a few others out for some fishing. It was something Raphtalia had no interest in until recently. But if it was because of this Kizuna person from the other world, or Raphtalia grabbing at something to take her mind off all the paperwork running a village needs, when Sadeena mentioned the bi-annual migration Raphtalia said, "Let's go."
So, they all piled into Sadeena's boat, and shoved off. It was a well made thing of wood and sail, with enough space in the hold for a week's worth of fishing. Of course, having someone who could turn into a killer whale, as well as old hands tagging along from the village, they had little trouble filling the modest hold to the brim with person sized fish.
Keel, while young and oddly not growing with levels, was an budding expert fisher like her father had been, and spent a lot of time in the hold cleaning their catches, then tossing the unused bits overboard to attract more fish.
Raphtalia, to Sadeen's surprise, wasn't actually fishing for what everyone else was, instead using an actual rod and reel, and just... fishing. A bright colourful fish here, an ugly lumpy fish there... It became clear she had come along to distract herself.
But, that was okay. At least, everyone thought so. She wasn't sulking. Brooding maybe, but not sulking.
They got back to the rebuilt dock on the shore near Lurolona, other sailor types mooring the ship down, making sure things clear for disembarking, and cheering when Sadeena came up from the hold with a headless fish that was longer than she was tall.
Raphtalia couldn't help but smile at the good cheer, even if all she had done was catch little fish hardly worth being used as bait (though, still used at bait!). But, it had been a week of salt, fishing, and sunlight, so to avoid offending anyone's nose (including her own), she let the dock hands unload the hold while she went to wash a week's worth of fishing off her.
Afterwards though, she found that she had a bit of a problem. A week away, getting distracted with Kyo, Kodori, and all the other things she had done recently, she hadn't had time for laundry. And while she knew she'd grown into a fine young woman, the world wasn't ready for her without clothes.
So, after hunting through the Vassal Weapon's inventory, she found she had exactly one outfit left. It was far too formal for her taste, even if L'arc had chosen it for its high mobility and high end protection. But, everyone, even Kodori... especially Kodori, thought it looked good on her.
Raphtalia returned to her newly rebuilt home. It was a nice place near the cliffs overlooking the ocean, where her parents had raised her. But now, it was just a place to put her stuff while she went adventuring, and sleep when she wasn't.
Raphtalia looked at the outfit, holding it up to her front while Ake stood respectfully outside her little home (that wasn't the wagon), and gave a report through the open window.
"The other three heroes arrived yesterday, and are... someplace around. Sir Motoyasu said it was due to one of Kodori's acquaintances, a vassal weapon user named S'yne... oh, you might know her as Murder Pierrot... Apparently she comes from a world that's already been destroyed."
Raphtalia was wiggling into various bits of the outfit. The first time, she had the nice tailor from L'arc's world help her into it. The last time, it was Tetsu. It was much harder to do alone.
"Ah, so she's gathering them all in one place to plan." Raphtalia sighed.
"That isn't all. Shortly after you left, she returned here to pick up Sir Usa, Clive and the Tiger Siblings."
Raphtalia finally figured out the obi, smiling as she got it exactly right after only two tries. "Why... oh... Okay. Of course she'd wait until I wasn't here to visit..." She grumbled, her frustration making her fumble a tricky little button.
"Lastly, Mr. Erhard showed up while you were cleaning up. Had a new assistant too. But that's about it." Ake finished, still just standing guard and certainly not peeking through the window. He was young, but certainly not stupid.
Raphtalia figured out the button, then carefully slid the Vassal Katana through her sash. The nice white over red 'combat Miko' outfit was exactly as it was when she had been fitted for it the first time.
Just outside, she heard Sadeena speak. "You're not peeking are you?" She teased, "And here I am wearing my sailing gear..."
Since her 'sailor' outfit was the same as her usual one, it wasn't surprising Ake's reply was a bit flustered, "Wouldn't think of it Ma'am! Just reporting to Lady Raphtalia!"
Raphtalia stepped out of her little house, a space just big enough for her, Sadeena, some books and two beds. There wasn't much point to have a huge house, since they were hardly home while adventuring.
Ake clearly approved, nodding, smiling, then bowing so she could pass, Sadeena however...
"Raphtalia..." She said after a moment of uncommon surprise, "You have to take that off, right now."
"What? Why? All my other outfits are in the wash! And before you offer, I am not wearing anything close to that!" She motioned to Sadeena's 'usual outfit'.
"You don't understand! That-"
Then the house behind her exploded.
Notes!
Cliffy is cliffy!
Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!
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