Aftermath of The Duel

I open the doors to one of the lower rooms in the Figment Library. The novelty of walking through these doors has certainly worn down a bit, but to say that I don't feel wonder coming through here every time would be a lie. Walking through those doors, I'm greeted by a large open, two story room with bookshelves and letters for walls. The upper floor is entirely a balcony looking over the lower floor with one open staircase leading down there. The lower floor is much more expansive than the upper floor, with all sorts of different bookshelves in many rows instead of just along the walls like the upper floor.

I walk down the stairs and walk throughout the large lower floor until I reach the desk where Lucidna is sitting and reading. There's quite a few people all sitting down and reading but my excitement is running too high for me to let this get to me. As I head over to her side of the desk, Lucidna seems to have finally noticed me.

"Ah, Assistant Azariah, you're back. Well, how did the duel go?"

"I lost."

"Hm… you don't seem particularly distraught… That was your first duel, correct? How did you feel about the whole thing?"

Ah, Lucidna's giving me the chance to talk about my feelings, how wonderful. I can't wait to go on for minutes about this before Lucidna gives me a snarky reply.

"The whole thing was super fun. I wound up creating a new variant of the wind blades you taught me during it, I really want to show you later. I never did get the chance to use that trump card you taught me though, which was unfortunate. Overall I realized that I had a lot further to go, and that's gotten me really excited so I really want to start practicing again."

"I see, you're one of those types of losers then, I wasn't really sure what reaction to expect from you but that's definitely a good one. Keep that mindset up and you'll advance quickly."

Lucidna goes back to reading her books and I'm just stood there, shook. Did Lucidna just… compliment me? That's such an alien feeling, this is entirely new territory. What am I meant to do in this situation? She's gone back to reading, is the conversation over? What am I supposed to do if the conversation is over?

"What are you standing there for, Assistant Azariah?"

"Oh, uh, well I really wanted to study magic some more. Can you teach me?"

"Nobody's currently available to handle my post. I'll head down there whenever I get the chance. As for you…"

Lucidna pauses. She stands up and looks at me right in the eyes, freezing me. Don't look at me like that, it's really scary…"

"Azariah, if I hand you the keys to go down to that level of the library on your own, will you just go down there to train and not head anywhere else?"

The feeling that flows into my body right now is a mix of shock and pride. Shock that Lucidna's starting to trust me this much and pride, well, because Lucidna's starting to trust me this much.

"Yes, I swear." I say. There is no other option for me to say.

"Azariah, if you are lying I am going to be very angry."

Lucidna, while she does have a really formal manner of speaking, the tone of voice she always uses is that of boredom. I've heard her sound annoyed and surprised before but around 90% of the time, Lucidna just sounds uninterested in what's going on. Right now though she's being dead serious. I've never heard her use this tone of voice before and it's actually starting to scare me.

"I'll say this again, just to reiterate. If you are lying, I am going to be very angry. Do you understand, Azariah?"

"Yes, I understand!" I say, while frantically nodding. This is a level of pressure I haven't felt from Lucidna since our first interview. It's different though. Back then it felt… professional while this feels more personal? I don't know, I don't know quite how to describe it.

"Alright, here's the keys then." And just like that, all of that pressure suddenly disappears and Lucidna hands me all those keys like it's an everyday occurence for her. Then she sits back down and starts reading again.

"If I need you, I'll call you with telepathy. Other than that, do what you want down there, just don't hurt yourself or go anywhere you're not allowed." Lucidna says, while flipping a page.

I'm still standing here, dumbfounded by the sheer vertigo of that shift in tone. I barely even register what it was that Lucidna just said to me. Honestly this still doesn't feel real, purely because of that switch up.

"What are you standing there for? I gave you permission to head down there."

"I just… are you really fine with giving me all these keys so casually?"

"I looked into your soul just now. Your excitement for studying more magic should keep your excitement for the forbidden areas of the library in check, at first at least. After that, since you're scared to death of even getting in trouble with me, threatening you like that should be more than enough to keep you in check. If you feel like I'm being too trusting of you, just know I'm only letting you borrow those because I'm here. I wouldn't even consider giving you those on the 4th shift unless someone was holding a blade to my neck."

"Ah… I see… I guess I'll be going then."

"Yes, have fun." Lucidna says, not even bothering to look up from her book.

><><><><

I walk into Baron Wisefang's office for the first time in weeks. The nostalgia feels amazing. Baron Wisefang and Virginia are both waiting in there for me.

"Kiaran, I'm glad that you've returned." Baron Wisefang says.

"Yeah, and I'm glad to be back as well. I was really starting to miss this place and all of you guys. I had, uh, something I needed to take care of when I got back but after that I came straight here. I'm really glad to be seeing all of you again."

"I'm happy to see that your personality hasn't really changed all that much after your journey." Virginia adds.

"So, just how did it go, Kiaran?"

"Oh, it actually went super well. I was able to get along with pretty much all of Pitiful's guys along the way, and I think that in the end I was able to live up to all of their expectations."

"I see, that's good. As for my reputation?"

"Ah, right. I'll be quite frank, sir, so please don't get mad at me, but most of Pitiful's men don't like you. Ruse particularly. They're all only just putting up a front since you're publicly supporting Pitiful's campaign."

Baron Wisefang sighs. "I already pretty much knew all that, but to hear it said to my face is particularly bothersome…"

"Not all of them hate you, though! Some of them have at least a somewhat positive opinion of you. If you would take my advice sir to get on their good side, you should probably act less like a noble. One of the main things I kind of got out of that whole trip is just how much Pitiful's men hate the nobility."

Baron Wisefang pauses at this, he looks down at the floor like he's thinking about something. Virginia also does the same thing.

"And just what do you mean by that, Kiaran?"

"I believe it would improve your relationship with Pitiful's men if you started acting more friendly towards them, and less formal. Treat them like close friends instead of business partners. Also, hang around your servants more, and involve them in more of your affairs. Get to know them, treat them more like coworkers or friends. They eat that sort of stuff up.

Also, the fact that you do legitimately care about your daughter is something even the ones that despise you the most still give you credit for. Noelle's like, super into their lifestyle as well. Bringing her along, treating her like your daughter for them to see, letting her interact with all of them… It's something Noelle and all of them will really appreciate.

"I'd rather not use Noelle as a political stage piece like that…"

"See? That's why it will just come off as genuine instead of something like that. Besides, this isn't entirely for your relationship with Pitiful's men, it's also for Noelle. She loves adventurer stories and stuff from the Emednes is a genre she particularly likes. Letting her be herself during meetings with Pitiful's men is something she'll be extremely happy about. Improving your relationship with them is just a side effect of that."

Baron Wisefang just stays silent. I bet he probably doesn't know what to say.

"Sir, just act like a friend and a good dad around Pitiful's men and I'm sure they'll come around to you. Strong bonds of friendship and family are stuff they can't get enough of."

"I'll keep it in mind, Kiaran. We'll talk later, for now you're dismissed."

"Yes sir."

><><><><

Later, I find myself in Noelle's room. Noelle's laying on her bed, sweating up a storm as she tries and lifts the broom that I tied two buckets of rocks to. Altogether the thing probably weighs around fifty pounds. At this point I usually bench press 200 pounds, but Noelle's eleven, so I have to keep that in mind.

"18… 19…" Her voice is really starting to get strained at this point. I lean over her, ready to grab the thing if she can't lift it any more.

"20!" she yells as she pushes it up as high as she can. I grab it and place it to the side as Noelle slowly catches her breath. She lays on the bed like a starfish. I certainly know that position. The position you take when your arms are absolutely killing you.

"When… when do we… get to sword swings?" Noelle asks me as she's panting.

"Not for a while, why?" Noelle looks at me really annoyed.

"I want to swing a sword."

"I want to get your muscles ready for that first though. You're eleven, Noelle, so you have a lot of growing to do. I think that working on upper body strength as a foundation for practicing sword swings is a good idea."

"Then we'll practice sword swings while I lift the stuff you give me."

"Nuh uh uh. I already have a plan for how this is going to go. We'll be starting with basic workouts to get your strength, speed, flexibility, and stamina up. After that we'll move onto basic sword forms and dodging like with what Ruse started me on. Then we'll start doing Pitiful training for real and start dueling each other."

"So… how long until I get to hold a sword?"

"Around two to three weeks, why?"

"What?! That's way too long! Can't you speed it up a little?!"

"No can do, this is the regimen that I decided would be the best for you."

"But why?!"

"People get stronger by ripping their muscles and then waiting for the body to heal them. That makes it sound way more metal than it actually is, but that's my limited understanding of how it works, anyway. We're giving you time to really break your muscles in and give them time to heal before you start practicing with a sword."

"But that's not how Pitiful's men do it! They bring in healers and start breaking themselves like crazy while the healers keep them alive!"

"Well I don't have any healers available to me, except the ones I knew on that trip but they're all busy."

"I'll convince father to bring one in! If I do that can you shorten the schedule down?!"

"Yes Noelle, if you can get Baron Wisefang to just give you a healer then I'll shorten your schedule."

"Alright, I'll do it now!" Noelle goes to run out of the room but I grab her shoulders before she can leave.

"Uh uh uh. Later, Noelle. We have some more training to do."

"What, lifting the broom some more?"

"No, we're heading outside and we're jogging around the mansion together. After that we'll do some sit ups. We'll repeat all that and lifting the broom again until I decide that's enough for the day."

"So we're taking the broom out with us?"

"Yeah, I'll grab-"

"No, I'll carry it out." Noelle says as she grabs the broom and lifts it over her shoulder. "I'm supposed to be wearing armor in the future, right? I need to try carrying more weight on me."

Her explanation makes sense, so I let her carry it outside. It's a pretty cloudy day in Heafdes today, so the entire sky is overcast. I don't think it's supposed to rain today, though.

"Hey Kiaran?" Noelle asks as she puts the broom down on the grass.

"Yeah, Noelle?"

"You said you got back an hour ago, right? What were you doing before you came over here?"

"Oh, I had a duel with a friend of mine."

"Really?! How'd that happen?! How'd it go?!"

"Oh, after she found out I was heading to the Ulfur Forest, she wanted to see if she could get strong enough to beat me while I was away. We dueled as soon as I got back."

"So what happened?! Who won?!"

"Oh, I kept charging her with my scythe, she kept throwing wind blades at me. I deflected them all, she started curving them which really threw me off, but I figured out how to deal with that eventually. Then when I got close she blasted me away with a huge gust of wind. After that, when I got close to her she flew away, so I threw my scythe at her and she fell down and surrendered."

Noelle looks absolutely entranced. I'm not going to tell her about the fact that I hit Azariah right in her boob. I just hope that Ruse doesn't tell her that the next time they meet.

"Hey, can I meet this friend of yours? I really want to see how they fight! They can fly too, that's just amazing!"

"I don't think you'll like each other very much. She's really shy."

"That's fine, I just want to see her use magic. If we don't get along then that's fine."

"I'll consider introducing you if she ever gets the free time. Now, we'll start with our jog."

"Hey Kiaran?"

"What is it now, Noelle?"

"After this, could you teach me magic as well?"

Huh? Why is Noelle asking me to teach her magic? I mean, I guess I can use it, but that doesn't mean I'm good at it or could even teach it. I have no idea how Noelle came to that conclusion.

"Noelle, I can only use two spells, and they're both super physical. I wouldn't be a good teacher for that at all."

"Then maybe your friend could teach me?"

"Azariah? I don't know if she'd like that… actually maybe she would? She loves magic so she might enjoy talking about it as well… that might not work out the best though since she's super busy."

"Really? What's her schedule like?"

"To my knowledge, she gets up around noon, goes to Kari's cult, eats lunch there and stays for a bit, before heading off to work to the Figment Library at 3 in the afternoon, gets off at 3 in the morning, she does whatever for an hour or two and then heads home and goes to bed."

"The Figment Library? My father sends servants to check out some of my books from there. I could probably meet her myself if I convinced father to let me go. Just what does she look like?"

"She's pale, has deep purple eyes, and long pitch black hair." Noelle recoils when I say that.

"Eugh… like Memento?"

"Please don't compare my friend to her, Noelle."

"Right, right, sorry, sorry."

"Actually, hey Noelle? I have an idea."

"What is it? If you can manage to get Azariah to teach you magic in your free time, how about during our little training sessions together we both teach each other? We'll start with jogging around Heafdes in the morning, and then you can help teach me read and write as well as some magic while I train you physically?"

"Yes! That sounds like a great idea! I'll have father bring me down to the Figment Library as soon as I get the chance!"

"Yeah, thank you Noelle."

><><><><

I take my seat in the front office of the adventurer's guild. The room is unusually dark with the door closed and all the windows boarded up. The only entrance and exit is the one door in the very back of the room. A large desk with all sorts of papers strewn about on top of it sits in the front of the room, in front of the boarded up windows. The person sitting at this disk is an older, balding blonde man who looks like he's seen his fair share of combat. This man is the Headmaster of the adventurer's guild here in Heafdes.

"Headmaster," I begin, bowing my head as I sit down. "I've heard about the monster congregation near the Antisor Mountains, and that I was supposed to be taking part in quelling it. When you called for me after hearing that, I came right away."

"Yes, Mr. Illeanes, that's why I've called you here. Reports coming in from the Antisor are saying that this congregation is unusually large and organized."

"What do you mean?"

"Many different monsters of many different races are all coming out to play and they're keeping they're fighting to a minimum. The weaker monsters are raiding human settlements in organized groups while the stronger ones are hanging back and defending their territory, only attacking when humans get close."

"I see, that is highly unusual. So not only am I supposed to help destroy it, I'm also meant to try and figure out what's happening?"

"You're quick on the uptake, Inell."

"Alright Headmaster, if that's the case then I'll fly there right now."

"No."

"No?"

"It's quite a large and organized group. It will be better if you travel in the traditional way and save up your mana. It will also help with morale if Inell the Dragon Tamer is traveling along with the adventurers."

"Alright, I understand. So you're planning on a large-scale deployment then?"

"Around 15% of our total manpower, along with a few of our stronger fighters."

"Geez, that is extreme. When will we be leaving?"

"Two days from now. Be ready."

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Dismissed."

I stand up and bow again before leaving. This entire situation is very strange. If it calls for 15% of the adventurers in Heafdes it must be a pretty big deal. With the dragons in the Antisor Mountains I couldn't imagine there being any issue. Even if there were any, my sister would be in the area. If she got involved then the situation should be dealt with rather quickly. That just leaves the problem of figuring out why this is happening.

"Hey, Inell." As I'm lost in thought, a voice calls out to me. As I look up I realize it's Azariah's friend. The blonde one.

"Aubrey, was it?"

"Yeah, you just got called to the Headmaster's office, what's going on?"

"Nothing you don't already know. There's a monster congregation northeast of the Antisor Mountains and I'm being called to help deal with it. All that's new is that I found out I'm leaving in two days and I'm not allowed to fly so that I conserve my mana."

"Just how dangerous is it going to be?"

"Hm… well a lot of other adventurers are going to be taking part in it… I'd say if everything goes well only about as dangerous as the usual mission, but if the command chain falls apart it'll be really bad, and that isn't all too unlikely. Adventurers aren't a disciplined army, after all."

"Right. Then do you believe that Azariah and Kiaran could handle themselves during this quest?"

"Azariah and Kiaran? Oh, unless things go absolutely disastrous, they should be able to handle themselves just fine. I'll also be there in the area, so you shouldn't have to worry if they wind up coming. Neither of them are adventurers though, so I'm not sure why you're asking."

"I'll be talking to them about it later. If they decide they want to come, can you convince the Headmaster to let them?"

"Oh, so that's what you're after. Yes, my word should be more than good enough to allow them to come, even if they aren't registered adventurers."

"And if they decide, can you also convince him to let my party come as well? It's under the names Aubrey Hayles, Freware Vale, and Cesre Crimson."

"Hm… that's a little harder but I'm sure I can work something out."

"Thank you. We'll talk about this again later after I've talked to the two of them about it."

"Right. Just ask around Kari's Cult or the adventurer's guild whenever you need to see me."