Taddle Legacy

"The ebonization process...is a curse laid upon the entire elven race by their king?" Momo blinked.

 "That's what it looks like." Helena nodded, "We couldn't really find much else. The journal sort of just ends not long after that."

 "Curious." Kaguya sipped her tea, "Was there no other information in the journal?"

 "A few names but nothing too major. Most of it seemed to be descriptions of this endless war he spent most of his life in. There are damaged parts and parts that just lacks too much context to really understand properly."

 "Hmm. Well, at least you can finish your dissertation now."

 "I dunno..." Helena crossed her arms, " 'It's a curse laid on the elven race by their king' may work as...just a quick explanation but it's still missing way too much detail for me to feel comfortable ending it like that."

 "Well, what else can you do?"

 "That's what Roko and I are going to ask Polaris about. There may not be anyway for us to figure anything else out but this just isn't enough information."

 "You're really dedicated to this essay now. Way more than when it was about elven culture."

 "Yeah, cause there's got to be like several dozen essays about elven culture. This is the real hard hitting information that could change the world."

 "You know, you'd make a good journalist." Momo chuckled.

 "Heh. If the truth's out there, I'll find it with my trusty partner, Roko!"

 "What about Roland?"

 "I don't want to talk about Roland."

 "You sure?" Momo smiled as she turned to look off to the right, "I think he might need a talk."

 In a large chair near a small window at the side of the room, Roland sat there in his white armor. Looking thoughtlessly out the window with a cup of coffee in his hand...and a white fedora on his head.

 "Peace...the ultimate triumph of humanity..." He muttered as he continued to look at nothing in particular and took a sip of his coffee. And immediately began coughing and retching to the unfamiliar drink.

 "I never know what that man's thinking." Momo smirked.

 "He's either horny or trying too hard to be cool." Helena sighed, "Just ignore him and he'll return to normal."

 "Since when was Roland normal?" Momo chuckled.

 "You know, you could just tell him to knock it off." Kaguya smiled, "You are his boss after all."

 "Yeah but I'm not that kind of boss. I mean, what's the point of having Roland around if he's not doing something stupid?"

 "A decent bodyguard maybe?"

 "Yeah but I can take care of myself."

 "True." Momo nodded, "So are you saying you only keep Roland around because he's entertaining?"

 "I mean, he can fight sure, but look at him." Helena snickered as she watched Roland sit, one leg crossed over the other, cup of coffee in his hand, looking out at the abject darkness of the dark elf village, "What the hell is he doing?"

 "I think what Roko said really got to him." Kaguya said.

 "He'll forget about it by the end of the week." Helena smirked, "Speaking of Roko, where is he?"

 "He's getting chewed out by Corissa for skimping on his lunch yesterday." Kaguya chuckled.

 "You'd figure he'd learn by now." Momo smiled.

 "This is Roko we're talking about. The only things he learns is what he teaches himself."

 "He certainly is difficult to teach." Momo laughed.

 A brief silence paused the princesses' conversation before Helena spoke up again,

 "You ever think those two are just making out in there?"

 Momo spat out her drink in surprise as Kaguya let out a loud pffft and began laughing, "Helena?!"

 "Look, I know you all think about it too." Helena smirked.

 "You ever think your intrusive thoughts are too loud?" Momo coughed with a large smile on her face.

 "No no, this is a perfectly reasonable question."

 "Well, I think they're cooking lunch together right now." Kaguya snickered.

 "Okay but like, before that."

 "I mean, they certainly do like each other." Kaguya replied, "But what's it matter to you?"

 "Would you believe me if I said I got hired by a certain pair of parents to uh...influence Corissa's love life?"

 "Yes." The two replied immediately.

 "Well damn. Guess I just outed myself."

 "Helena, how much are they paying you?"

 "Just like a small dowry. No big deal."

 "Sounds like a cushy job."

 "I know, right? I don't even have to do anything and I get money!"

 "You're still taking the money despite doing this for the entertainment?"

 "I mean, duh. Why wouldn't I take the money?"

 "Fair point."

 "Is this job the reason why you keep Roland away from Corissa?"

 "Pft. No. That's just common sense."

 "Hey everyone!" Corissa said as she and Roko arrived with trays of food, "Lunch is ready!"

 "Ah, a fine accompaniment to my coffee." Roland stood up, walking over to join them.

 "Ooo, katsudon." Momo clapped, "That's one of my favorites."

 "Yo, is that milk tea?!" Helena grinned as Roko began placing down the drinks, "Aw, it feels like forever since I had one of those!"

 "This truly is Roko's best cocktail." Momo said as she took the sip of the sweet treat.

 "It's not a cocktail." Roko sighed as he sat down at the table, "And I didn't invent it."

 "I like milk tea and all, but I actually prefer some of Roko's actual cocktails." Kaguya remarked, "Especially if they're alcoholic."

 "Are...you allowed to drink alcohol?" Momo asked.

 "Fuyukian wine is quite the delicacy. Our understanding of the scarce ingredients around us has given way to, admittedly, unusual sounding wine but it always tastes quite good if not unique at least."

 "Okay but can you actually drink alcohol?"

 "Unfortunately, again due to our scarce resources, we can't really make too much Fuyukian wine. Our wine can go for a lot but the demand's not quite there to expand much further beyond a niche treat. Perhaps if we could more easily mass produce the more popular flavors we could establish a footing in the industry."

 …

 "...Kaguya...what is the legal drinking age in Fuyuki?" Momo insisted.

 "Just drop it." Roko sighed, "She's clearly not going to give you a proper answer."

 "I'm just shocked that our student council president is so maverick."

 "We all have our vices, Momo." Kaguya sipped her milk tea.

 "So what's my vice?" Momo asked as she began to eat her lunch.

 "Probably your battlelust." Roko replied.

 "What?! I have a perfectly normal amount of battlelust."

 "A normal amount of battlelust is usually no battlelust."

 "What?! There's plenty of battlelusty guys back in Momokami!"

 "And therein lies your problem." Helena smirked, "Anyway, Roko, what's the next step in our investigation?"

 "I don't see any way to gather more information other than questioning Polaris." Roko sighed, "Even if there's nothing else to find here, we need to know if there's any way to find out more that might be more-"

 "Illegal?"

 "I was going to say risky."

 "I mean close enough, right?"

 "Not really."

 "Enough danger can be found on the right side of the law." Roland held his cup of coffee up to his lips, "There is no sense in crossing that line without due reason."

 "Yeah okay, Roland. Why don't you take another sip of that coffee?"

 Roland continued to hold the cup up to his lips, his hands shuddering ever so slightly as he continued to hold the coffee up for no reason.

 "Do you want some milk or sugar for that coffee, Roland?" Corissa offered.

 "NO!" Roland slammed the cup of coffee on the table, "Black coffee is the ideal drink. It's bitterness and darkness reflects the true nature of reality and the society we live in. Only a truly mature person can appreciate its depth of flavor and aroma."

 "So take a sip then." Helena repeated.

 Roland sat there for a moment, struggling with his thoughts before he silently just grabbed his bowl and went back to eating.

 "Anyway, I'm up for bothering Polaris." Helena said as she fed herself some rice, "Any of yall want to come along?"

 "I've got nothing better to do." Kaguya shrugged.

 "I've been meaning to check out the dark elves' barracks...but this doesn't sound like it'll take long." Momo replied, "Plus, this has the potential to be explosively entertaining."

 "How about you, Corissa?" Helena asked, "You coming along to keep Roko from overworking himself again?"

 "T-That is not the reason I'll be coming along." Corissa turned her head defiantly.

 "Uh huh. I hear Momokami has a name for people like you."

 "You mean tsunderes?" Momo asked.

 "That's the one." Helena snapped her fingers.

 "She's acting tsundere but she's not actually a tsundere." Kaguya corrected, "She's more deredere."

 "If you say so. These are all just words to me."

 Roko and company made their way back to the council hall not long after finishing their lunch. Polaris was there as always, communicating various things to the dark elf council as they bustled around the room. When they arrived, Polaris stopped and greeted them with a knowing smile.

 "Welcome." he said, "It appears you've figured out what I knew faster than I thought."

 "Is that all that you figured out?" Roko asked, "That the process is a curse?"

 "Indeed. It's not quite the answer I was seeking but it's what I've discovered after so many years."

 "Well, I can't say I'm satisfied with it either." Helena crossed her arms, "Is there no way find out more?"

 "I'm afraid our records are not as robust as the elves." Cinder sighed, "Most of it is just records of our operations, not quite as historical as you'd like."

 "The elves' library might have a little more of what you want. I've sent Brook back to deliver a message a couple days ago and bring back some possible records but given that we're not even close to the biggest elven capital, we might not find much?"

 "Wait, Granreveria isn't the elven capital?" Helena blinked.

 "They are when it comes to magic." Fulminous explained, "Primarily due to the presence of the 'Calamity Witch' or Rivera. But the biggest elven capital is Agrestal and it's several days of travel away from us."

 "What about this Tree Cradle?" Roko asked, "Is that in Agrestal?"

 "The Tree Cradle..." Ash rubbed his chin, "It's not a concept that we've heard of."

 "Really? It sounds really important." Helena frowned.

 "To elves perhaps but we dark elves may not even be related to it." Farad posited, "The degradation of historical memory is one of our collective races' greatest weakness. We live so long that such moments are either so short that we forget or so significant that we just assume it's common knowledge."

 "For what it's worth, I asked Brook about this." Polaris nodded, "She doesn't seem to have heard of it either so I can't imagine that normal elves would have information on it."

 "So to sum it all up." Kaguya said, "The former elven king laid an ambiguous curse on his own people to turn them into dark elves at a location that may or may not exist now."

 "Pretty much." Farad shrugged, "There's no way to tell what happened in the past now."

 "Are you sure?!" Helena pressed, "Are you sure there isn't anyway we can find out that may be a bit illegal?"

 "Ahem." Roko cleared his throat loudly.

 "I mean, risky." Helena quickly corrected.

 Polaris laughed softly, "There might be one way."

 "There is?!" The humans and the dark elf council all cried out in shock and surprise.

 "It's not necessarily a guaranteed method. It all depends on how...convincing you can be."

 "I assume we don't have to threaten anybody?" Roko crossed his arms.

 "Preferably not. This person is a pretty good friend of mine."

 "What can this uh...dark elf, I presume, do for us?" Momo asked.

 "Normal elf actually." Polaris explained, "He's a bit of an eccentric, choosing to live away from Granreveria and dark elves alike. He's a bit of a misanthrope to be honest."

 "How is this person going to help us?" Helena asked.

 "He's a seer. Bit of a famous one actually though his hermitage has limited his exposure to others outside a niche clique. I discovered him on my own searches but failed to convince him to divine the past for me, at least in regards to this event."

 "Is it possible that he couldn't do it?" Roko asked, "Perhaps he lacks the ability to go so far back in time?"

 "No, if that was the issue, I'm sure he would've told me to get me to stop bothering him. It seems like something about that period in time goes against his principles or some such."

 "Maybe he's seen what happened for himself?" Kaguya suggested, "And what he saw was what convinced him to keep this matter secret?"

 "I don't think so." Polaris mused, "I tried everything I could, including prying what information I could from him but I couldn't discover anything."

 "Leave it to the ageless lich to have thought of everything." Helena said.

 "That said, what do you expect us to do that you couldn't?" Kaguya asked.

 "Honestly, after hearing about what you achieved, I figured you might be able to preform some sort of miracle." Polaris chuckled.

 "Why do people keep expecting these things from us?" Roko sighed.

 "To be fair, we've been unnaturally successful." Momo grinned.

 "So what do you think?" Polaris asked, "I can give you the location of this seer if you think you can convince him."

 "Well, there's no harm in trying." Helena replied, "And it's not like we're going to find another lead anytime soon."

 "Then I'll prepare an escort for you tomorrow morning." Polaris smiled, "Tonight, just enjoy the party we'll be having."

 "We're having a party?" Roko frowned, "Why?"

 "Well we wanted to celebrate earlier." Cinder laughed, "But we couldn't well celebrate the reunion of two lovers without said lovers now could we?"

 "I had some matters to deal with after being away for so long." Polaris chuckled, "Including some communications with Rivera but the brunt of it should be over once Brook gets back tonight."

 "Aw, that's sweet." Helena grinned, "Of course we'll attend."

 "You guys can." Roko scoffed, "I'm not really one for parties."

 "Aw come on, Roko." Momo said, "Think of it as a nice break from all the work."

 "I've been helping Helena out but I had my own plans you know."

 "Oh really?" Helena blinked, What else were you going to do?"

 "...Training?"

 "Probably shouldn't have said that." Roko muttered as the dark elves cheered and partied around him, "Probably should've said something else."

 "I mean, Momo seemed to approve." Mikado said in a mildly reassuring way.

 "With your behavior, I'm surprised you didn't expect this." Roland scoffed, "All that intelligence and you still have no emotional comprehension."

 "Shut up, Roland's hat." Roko retorted.

 "What is with the new hat though?" Mikado asked, "You have been acting weirdly recently, Roland."

 "This is my new style." Roland said, "I've decided to freshen things up. Now I'm more...dandy and...hard boiled."

 "More like half boiled."

 "Ha! I knew you'd say that! Why don't you come up with something more original?"

 "I will when you have an original idea."

 "Heh. Soon you'll see. I've got a whole new outlook on life! This time I'll succeed! I'll get a girlfriend!"

 "Not if that girlfriend is Corissa."

 As Roko and Roland traded verbal attacks, not too far from them, Treesa was sitting at a different table looking utterly miserable. Because sitting right next to her was Mistral who was chugging down a beer. The dark elf slammed down her half empty mug and turned to look at the boys.

 "Hey."

 "What?" Treesa sighed as she sipped her own beer.

 "You know that human over there?"

 "Roko?"

 "Yeah. Smash or pass?"

 Treesa spat out her drink. Coughing loudly and choking on her own surprise, "WHAT?!"

 "Smash or pass?"

 "You can't be serious."

 "No no no, it's fine." A drunk Mistral wrapped an arm around Treesa and pulled her close, "Look...smash or pass?"

 Treesa sighed and looked at Roko, "...Pass."

 "For real?"

 "Yeah."

 "But why tho?"

 "I prefer my partner to actually be there for me emotionally."

 "You know, valid." Mistral shrugged, "How about the other one?"

 "Roland? Snrk. Hard pass."

 "Aw, you don't wanna give him a chance?"

 "You haven't been around him long enough."

 "He got that hat though."

 "Aren't you married?"

 "Look...he doesn't have to know. Now the black one."

 "Don't call him that." Treesa rubbed her eyes, "Varis? ...Pass."

 "Damn girl."

 "I feel sorry for him but I don't think I can develop a relationship if my partner can't talk."

 "RIP mute people."

 "You know what I mean." Treesa pulled on Mistral cheek.

 "Okah, now tha lash one."

 "Mikado?" Treesa let go of her cheek, "...Eh. Smash."

 "Wow girl. How drunk are you?"

 "He looks like a nice guy!" Treesa protested, "He looks like he can hold a stable job. Can be there for me. What's wrong with that?!"

 "Oh, you're so precious."

 "Okay, then what's your take on them?"

 …

 …

 …

 …

 "Dude, I'm married."

 "OKAY, BITCH." Treesa stood up to leave but a cackling Mistral pulled her back down.

 "Now now." Mistral said, "You want to know?"

 "Not really."

 "You really want to know?"

 "Not. Really."

 "Alright then." Mistral nodded, "...So now the girls."

 "I hate you. I hate you so much." Treesa growled as Mistral turned her to the princesses,

 "No no, this'll be quick. Okay, Corissa."

 "Oh, smash." Treesa said without any hesitation.

 "Oh heeeeeeeeelllllll yeah, smash."