The Daily Grind I

Number of times König Geistdunkelrustung has resurrected: 5

Regardless of what Geist tried to defend himself or engage Inessa or Lylia in dialogue rather than combat, his attempts were ignored. Instead, the two women would talk to each other, Lylia’s tactic to distract Inessa from listening to him.

As such, the time he had ‘alive’ was a short affair, barely a minute long each day.

“Why would I even want to go to a party with a guy old enough to be my dad?”

“I know you don’t like it, Essa, but you’re going to have to marry someone.”

During those brief stints among the living, Geist was exposed to snippets of the lives the two lived beyond killing him. He heard names of nobles he didn’t know, and learned fragments of the culture of Facide. Just learning that there were still nobles, monarchies, and social classes gave him some idea of the developmental level of the society of the world, which clashed with his knowledge of how long the society had been around. I know their kingdom has thousands of years of history, yet they’re still using such archaic practices? He tried not to judge the world too harshly. Measuring a world with magic against the values he still remembered, where science and innovation were paramount for survival and comfort, would be too arrogant and condescending.

And yet…

“Inessa should be free to marry whomever she wants, when she’s ready.” He just couldn’t stop himself from commenting occasionally.

“Use: Micro.” Going against Lylia’s position often resulted in her stepping in to remind him of the errors of his way, literally. Learning that Inessa’s sword could minimize the number of revivals he had, she had been getting Inessa to deal with him, but she wasn’t reluctant to stomp the life, and defiance, out of him. “Nobody asked you.”

“I think Geisty has a point.” Inessa giggled, as his wit was the only thing that all of their advantages couldn’t curb.

*****

Number of times König Geistdunkelrustung has resurrected: 6

Some days, it would be Lylia complaining about headaches and inconveniences in her life. And as a prominent figure in the religion devoted to the Goddess Lini, Geist used this as a prime opportunity to learn about that.

“Her Holiness appointed Archbishop Heritina to oversee the festival in Lastlight this year…” She said, kicking a pebble as Inessa easily slipped past Geist’s guard to claim another of his lives.

“Isn’t that, like, a really important thing? Lastlight is the largest agricultural domain in the kingdom.” Inessa asked, waiting for Geist to reform.

Lylia nodded, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Audrey was always selected to bless the land, but since I succeeded her, it has been decided that it is ‘inappropriate for the Saintess to waste her time with such menial tasks’. Yet, Her Holiness has no problem appointing me to give sermons to and hear the confessions of criminals. I remember that being a punishment for Acolytes who slacked off in their duties.”

“Maybe they know any criminal who tries anything with you around will get shrunk and crushed?” Again, despite knowing the trouble it would get him into, Geist couldn’t help making comments when the opportunity presented itself. It wasn’t as if he could counter in any other way.

And, as usual, Inessa would find the humor in his quips.

“Use: Seduce.” Lylia, not so much. “If anything, getting to touch something crafted by the Goddess Lini herself would be too good for those who would disturb the peace She provided us. You should be thankful to be given that honor.”

“Yes, Mistress Lylia! I am honored!” It wouldn’t be until after he was returned to the cool, comforting embrace of the pitch-dark void, when he was freed of her ensorcellment, that Geist could be mortified at how he behaved while under her spell.

Her satisfied smirk was followed by a casting of her Micro spell, and her sadistic, playful crushing the lives out of him under her soles until a Mana Crystal appeared. His consciousness always lingered long enough for him to catch a few more moments of their conversations.

“Feel better?” Inessa asked.

“A bit. Though part of me wishes I could do the same to some of the other ‘pain in the butt’ people I have to tolerate. Come on. Mercifully, we don’t have to report to the Council anymore, but…”

*****

Number of times König Geistdunkelrustung has resurrected: 7

Bit by bit, probably because neither woman saw him as a threat, they would reveal more and more information to him.

“I don’t want to go to the banquet tonight… I won’t have time to eat with all the guys trying to hit on me.” Inessa bemoaned, impaling her sword through his chest and pinning him to the floor.

“But you have to go.” Lylia countered sternly. “It’s a good thing Mars has a means to cast Teleport, so you didn’t have to travel for days like the Queen and General Quentellia did.”

“I was really hoping I could just avoid the whole thing thanks to needing to come and take care of Geisty every day.” Pulling her blade from the ground so she could strike him down as he reformed, the brunette sighed. “Are these Golemtides even that big of a deal?”

“Of course they are! There likely won’t be another one for a few hundred years.” Shaking her head at the lackadaisical disregard for a literal historic, once-in-a-lifetime event, Lylia could only sigh. “Duke Rajuloew and his sons will go down in history, and as the representation of the pinnacle of martial prowess, you need to be there to acknowledge them. Honestly, Essa, be careful what you say. There are already enough rumors circulating about us.”

“Why do you think I wait until it’s just us? There’s nobody else around for days, so if I can’t complain here, where can I?”

“Did you forget that I’m here, and I have opinions of my own?” Geist asked, just barely able to parry a thrust from the Champion in her moment of distraction.

“Yeah, but you’re just Geisty, Geisty~” Inessa said, dismissing his objection as she corrected her mistake and twirled to lop his head off.

“Not that your opinion would count,” Lylia added.

“Even if I took your side over Inessa’s?” He said flatly, mostly just to see if her prejudice against him would turn her into a contrarian out of spite.

“If you want to advocate why all Corrupted should be wiped off the face of the world, it would be the only sensible thing you have said.” She smirked.

Before he could respond, the golden-armored swordswoman dismembered him and decimated his separate pieces in a flash. “Bad Geisty. You’re not allowed to take anyone’s side but mine!” She said, puffing out her cheeks as severed chunks turned to shadow and coalesced into a Mana Crystal. “Oh, shoot! I wanted to drag this out a bit longer… Now I have to go get ready for that stupid banquet.”

Shaking her head, Lylia smiled at Inessa, her visible eye kind and sympathetic. “Inessa, you need to take all of your duties as Champion seriously.”

“...I know, I just–”

“So we should patrol the area a bit to see if any new golems popped up before heading back.” The blonde added with a wink, cutting her friend off. “Wouldn’t want another Golemtide showing up to ruin the banquet.”

*****

Number of times König Geistdunkelrustung has resurrected: 9

“Geisty’s ten for ten… Don’t you think this is a bit excessive?” Inessa asked as she and Lylia teleport back to the capital, Mana Crystal in hand. “I mean, it still gives me some excuse to reject invitations from guys trying to wife me up, but I can’t make plans either.”

“I will admit, even I am starting to get tired of going there every day.” Lylia agreed, barely acknowledging the guards who barely acknowledged them as they passed through the gates. “Audrey’s birthday is in less than two weeks, and I would rather not be interrupted when visiting her grave… Or see him in general that day.”

“We’ll have to figure something out.” The brunette said.

As the two lamented the increased burden that dealing with König Geistdunkelrustung had become, they walked unhurriedly towards the castle in the distance. They exchanged ideas on how they would handle killing Giest going forward to return a bit of normalcy to their lives.

“Again? They can’t expect us to believe they are going to slay a Demon Monarch every day now.”

“But the Council is allowing it. Maybe it’s something else?”

“The Champion and Saintess only have to deal with Demon Monarchs. What else could they be doing? What else could the Council need them to do every day?”

“And you would think the price of Mana Crystals would come down if they really were.”

And, as predictable as the light of the Goddess Lini rising in the west and setting in the east, they could overhear the whispers of the common people as they passed– the people whose peace they were protecting without a word of thanks or appreciation.

“You know, I heard from my sister’s husband’s cousin, who works for a bakery that some nobles send their servants to, that the Divine Artifacts the Champion and Saintess use need Mana Crystals to function.”

“Is that really true? So, then, they’re keeping all the Mana Crystals for themselves?”

“How else do you explain them being able to use Legendary-ranked magic?”

“By the grace and generosity of the Goddess Lini, you ignorant ingrates.” Lylia sneered under her breath, sick and tired of hearing similar rumors every time they returned. “And we turn Mana Crystals over to the Council directly. If there is a shortage, take it up with them.”

“Now, now, Lia. Just ignore them.” Inessa said, comforting the blonde.

“Why are you so much more patient with people who disparage your efforts than you are towards the noble who… at least pretend like they appreciate you?” Lylia asked as they continued.

“For the same reason you get so frustrated with the, quote, ‘common people’, unquote, but let the nobles get away with so much. You said it yourself. These people don’t know what’s really going on. We can’t blame them for coming to the wrong conclusion if we’re not transparent and don’t correct them.” The brunette replied. “Nobles pretending and hiding behind fake compliments and hollow smiles piss me off way more.”

“I guess this will just have to be another thing we agree to disagree on.” Taking comfort in the complementary outlooks that balanced out their friendship, Lylia still didn’t like hearing the rumors, but knew Inessa was right about how nobles acted. Despite being the two strongest people in the world, they were powerless against the greater forces of politics and public opinion.

“All we can do is keep doing what we do. And the people will come around. You’ll see.” Inessa offered, smiling as she looked up at the sky. As the two walked in comfortable, intimate silence, the brunette's face lit up as a genius idea popped into her head. “What if I learn the Taming skill and make Geisty my pet? He was such an adorable doggo of shadow and death.”

The idea was so absurd, Lylia couldn’t maintain her composure and laughed genuinely. “You’d have to be higher level than him for that, right? Also, a first-generation Champion with a Corrupted pet…”

“But he was so cute, right? You could even make him smaller~!” Inessa insisted, not letting silly rules and limitations discourage her as they continued towards the castle.