CHAPTER 8.5 LAGH AHRI OF THE DWARVES

***The Holy Palatial Gardens, at the time when Kuro was soliciting help for the famine victims in Cherhom…***

Since Kuro was already in the Demon Federal Republic, he to also talk to Maddie about the incident that led him to go to Cherhom. It was that time when a group of dwarves attacked the Dupree palace; not only did that lead to the deaths of those dwarves, it also injured some of the Duke of Maverny’s guards, and nearly put Eris in danger.

“…”

Seirna did say it was a conspiracy between the Prince Uhrian, and the other saints, including the Human Saint. And, well, it was not Kuro was angry; but he would like some explanations. What they did was something that risked the lives of his loved ones, and he would never tolerate that. However, of course, it was an awkward moment, standing in front of the four saints, plus the halfling prince, at the throne room of the Holy Palatial Gardens. So, he never really asked them straight, yet all of them were averting their eyes from him.

“Your Holinesses, Your Highness the Prince Uhrian,” Kuro continued, even when everyone was avoiding the topic. “If you can just explain to me why did you have to go to such lengths, when you can just send me to that place.”

It was Maddie who first tried to answer, but the halfling prince stopped her. “Milord,” he spoke slowly, as if thinking of the words before saying it. “You already know the true nature of my ‘niece,’ Lady Martelle, right?”

“Yes. The soul of the Dwarf Saint rested inside that golem.”

“And you know how much she didn’t want to go back to the Lord Louis’ side.”

“I’m aware,” I paused for a bit; there was something I was beginning to realize. “Are you saying that you forced that meeting between us, so she can finally confront her past?”

“Yes, milord,” Prince Uhrian confirmed. “But please, absolve these ladies of the responsibilities for endangering your household. It had to be done; and those dwarves knew what they were getting into.”

“What? Are you saying they came to the estate with axes and hammers, ready to die?”

“In some ways, yes…” the halfling prince averted his eyes. “For they are fanatics, sent to keep an eye on my activities. Hemelin posted them as guards, when really, they did everything to keep track of my activities. As such, I have no love for them.”

“Master,” Ruro added, “that group you killed were members of the Church of the Golden Hammer, whose loyalty lie more on the side of the church officials than the Lady Helgath’s lover. The halfling prince just pointed them towards you, and you got rid of those spies for His Highness.”

It didn’t satisfy Kuro’s doubts, even when the Beastman Saint was the one who explained. Eris was nearly killed, and there were paladins that were injured, too. And in simpler terms, he was used.

“Kuro,” the Lady Hinwe entered the conversation. “Look, the Prince Uhrian and us have the same goals; which is, to bring back the Dwarf Saint from her self-exile. Our time is limited. While we support your way of convincing people, reality is, it isn’t applicable to our situation right now. So, the Prince decided to hatch a plan to remove the spies sent to watch them, while at the same time, end the madness that is happening in Cherhom/Equality. To make it even more plausible that those dwarves won’t suspect anything, he asked for our help. Seeing that we can hit two bird with one stone, that is, to also allow you to meet the Dwarf Saint and get her god-powers, we agreed to it…”

“You can tell it to me; I can keep a secret,” he insisted.

“If we tell that to you, Sir G,” it was Natasha, “then, by all means, the incident with the Lady Hinwe will happen again.”

Kuro was silent. The Demon Saint did make her point. Even inside the body of Lady Martelle, the Dwarf Saint could peer inside our minds. As such, if Kuro, or Lily, knew that everything that happened was a carefully-planned scheme to have them meet, gain trust, and pass the god-powers to him, then they might’ve never succeeded in their goal.

“Besides,” Maddie finally spoke. “You worry too much about Eris. While she herself doesn’t know about it, the Paladins do, hence, they made proper countermeasures to keep her safe. It’s just that, the injuries on some of the ladies is part of the unexpected aspects of battles.”

But what about him? He got into danger as well.

“It was a gamble on the side of Prince Uhrian,” the Human Saint added. “And he knows…if something real bad happened to you, I will destroy their cities.” The fact that she was smiling when she said that brought chills to all of them, especially to the halfling prince.

“Milord…I-I made sure they got the wrong information,” he defended himself. “Nevertheless, I ask for your forgiveness. Please look at this as something that is beneficial to both of us; the Dwarf Saint is back, and you also have her god-powers. And if you deem that as something insufficient, then I offer my entire household in service to you.”

“That won’t be necessary, Your Highness,” Kuro declared. “It’s not like I can’t understand your reasons; I’m just afraid it might happen again in the future. Still, I forgive your actions.”

“Th-Thank you, milord.”

“Kuro…” Maddie called his attention to her.

“Yep?”

“You’re misunderstanding something,” she said. “While we did agree on the Prince Uhrian’s schemes, please remember that this happened because we need the god-powers of the Dwarf Saint. You know yourself that there are times when leaders have to decide something that is out of their moral convictions, right? But, that’s it. You already have the god-powers; I can’t see any other reason for you to risk your life. If such an event comes, you can be sure I’ll lay waste to the fief of your enemies.”

“Yes, I support the yandere,” the Lady Hinwe smirked. “Aren’t you, too, guys?”

“If it’s my Master, then I’m in,” Ruro declared, while her tails wagged. “But I do think Maddie needs to chill down a little.”

“Heh, I’m just confident that Sir G will destroy anyone who stands his way,” Natasha added. “He’s my teacher, see?”

The Prince Uhrian and Kuro exchanged confused looks. After all, the former wondered how could the latter keep these ladies calm…

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And so, Prince Uhrian wanted a word with the Black God.

“!!!”

Taking Kuro aside as they walked down the hall from the Saint’s Palace’s throne room, the halfling prince asked, “Have you encountered my mother?”

“Lady Ahri?”

Prince Uhrian nodded. “Did anything happen between you and her?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did she insult or mock you?”

“Nothing of the sort,” the human was confused. “Why are you asking these things?”

The halfling prince sighed, and leaned on the wall. He admitted, “I’m impressed how you handle your ladies, milord; they are all headstrong and determined. I wondered how you squared up with my mother.” He followed that with an exasperated, and awkward, laugh.

“Ah…I get it,” Kuro chuckled, too. “Well, I’ll be honest; she’s a handful. It’s like she’s suspicious of everything I say or do, especially around the Lady Helgath.”

“Can’t help it,” he sighed once more. “My mother is always suspicious of humans.”

“But she married your father.”

“Father is the one why she’s like that.”

“Understandable.” The Duke of Maverny said nothing after. Then, silence as the two men just looked at the scenery on the other side of the window. Finally, after a few more seconds, Prince Uhrian broke the ice…

“Milord.”

“Your Highness?”

“My mother can be a handful, but she’s a well-meaning lady,” he pointed out. “Just that, with what happened between her, the Lady Helgath and my father, she’s always been suspicious of other races, not only the humans.”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“And, uh…”

“Yep?”

“Be careful. She likes strong males.”

Kuro fell quiet. Deep inside, he asked, ‘What the hell’s that supposed to mean?’, though he chose not to say that loud so as not to offend the halfling prince.

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***The city of Montserrant…***

It was one of the slow days in the city, and the Dwarf Saint, the Lady Helgath, mingled around the Montserrant marketplace. While she was aware that the problem of Cherhom was far from over just yet, it wouldn’t hurt to take time to rest and relax. After all, Kuro was already on the matter, and was soliciting help back in Chersea.

“…”

As she went around the stalls and the noisy ‘business’ talk, she felt someone bumped unto her. Then, the Dwarf Saint realized, though she was in ‘disguise,’ she would never outwit the person in front of her…

“I’ve been your guardian for a long time, Your Holiness,” the Lady Ahri proudly boasted. “I know a wandering Dwarf Saint when I see one.”

The Lady Helgath only replied with a smirk. Nevertheless, the captain of the Army of Stone added, “What are you doing here? It’s dangerous for you to wander without a proper guard to watch over you.”

“I’m not a child anymore, Laghy,” the saint replied, using Lady Ahri’s nickname on her. “If anything, even when I was young, I’m still bigger than you!”

“Being bigger doesn’t mean you can protect yourself, Your Holiness,” the guard lady countered. “You even let yourself be duped by a human before!”

“Don’t bring Louis to this talk…and haven’t you guys ‘did’ it? Your son is in Chersea, by the way.”

“I’m not referring to that asshole,” the captain replied. “He only had his way on me because he said humans ‘needed sex,’ so…being a kind idiot I was once, I obliged. Anyway, I’m talking about the Lord Kuro.”

“He’s not duping me,” the Lady Helgath defended. “I have been reading his mind since day one, so I can tell if he’s just being selfish.”

“Oh really…”

“Yes.” The laconic reply of the Dwarf Saint was followed by a staring contest, as the captain of the Army of Stone tried to intimidate the Lady Helgath to telling her the truth. They were like statues for a few moments, that even the bystanders wondered if the two were performing something in the middle of the busy thoroughfare.

And then, the holy lady broke the ice. “Ahri.”

“Your Holiness?”

“Is it me, or did you just get smaller? Did the long time you sleep underneath the Grand Temple made you shorter?”

“Pfft!” Lady Ahri only answered her with a loud laugh. While her behavior unnerved nearby dwarves, the heavy armor worn by the captain of the Army of Stone told everyone not to intervene in their conversation. After that, she asked the Dwarf Saint, “Your Holiness, it’s been a while since we last did this. How about we go around the market for some food trip?”

The Lady Helgath paused for a moment, weighing her options. Then, when she realized she had nothing else better to do, the Dwarf Saint agreed, and they immediately hit the road.