Vol. 2 Chapter 8: Proposal

So, the story goes like this...

Once upon a time, there was a king, and ruled the kingdom of the wind elves. The problem was, however, this king had no wife, nor children, and so there was uncertainty as to his heir should the time comes for someone to succeed him. His land and the neighboring kingdoms were just reeling from the aftermath of a bloody conflict in the past; the elves were not siring children enough to support their recovering economy.

He can't afford to plunge his country again into another succession crisis.

To keep the peace between the various factions within his land, the king repeatedly prayed to the heavens to give him a wife. He searched far and wide for the fated woman of his dreams, yet he desired no one. Desperate, he crossed to Earth and prayed in various churches, shrines, temples, and even in masjids. Danced in courtship festivals somewhere in Africa. Joined reality TV shows under assumed names. Tried dating apps like Cinder, but all he got were gold-diggers and human males masquerading as women, so it was a big 'no.'

Everything is in vain...

One time, out of frustration, the king cried out from the balcony of his palace, "Please! Whoever is powerful enough hearing this, give me a wife!"

Lo-and-behold! His prayers were immediately answered, and a beautiful spirit of nature appeared before him.

"Wind king," the spirit began. "I have heard your pleas, and I shall grant you your wish. However, know that I have conditions. First, you—"

"I accept!"

"Eh?!"

"I said, I accept!"

"Y-You haven't even heard of my conditions!"

"Who cares about those? Those are just like the EULA of computer programs...no one bothers to read them. Now, marry me!"

And with that, just fucking like that, the King of the Wind Elves married the spirit of lust. Yep, the spirit of lust, of all freaking spirits he can pull.

"Yes, looking into your thoughts, I think you're already aware of the implications of our situation," the queen chuckled. "Elves are pretty isolationists; they are strict when it comes to allowing foreigners and foreign culture into their lands, even those who come from other regions of Alfheim. So, I am talking to you now, Yukie, that you are aware of what might happen should we let Kikyo roam freely."

"Care to...elaborate?"

The queen gestured to an elf, and she brought out a laptop. On the screen was a picture, which Lady Aranea zoomed in to make it clearer. "This is a shot from our servant's camera; she works as Kikyo's maid, so she has access to her room."

Honestly, the moment I laid my eyes on the picture she showed me, I was speechless. It was made by a concealed camera, so the angle was completely off. Still, I could see my own face, printed on papers stuck on the walls of Kikyo's room—those were obviously taken when I was younger, and in the middle of the dungeon raids with her.

"Here's another..."

She scrolled through different pictures, each showed different items inside glass containers with labels written in elvish. Translated, those were: 'Yukie's chest hair,' 'Yukie's underwear thread,' 'Yukie's chicken bone fragment during the Siberian raid,' and even...

"Yukie's napkin with his sweat? What the hell—I-I mean, what are these things, Your Majesty? Are those legit?"

"100% all-original. Your collectibles."

I felt shivers coming down my spine.

The queen, with an amused look on her face, continued. "See, my daughter is head-over-heels in-love with you, Yukie. Nevertheless, I plead for your understanding; as much as we—personally, as her parents—would like to support our daughter's happiness, we are afraid that letting her do as she please can have severe consequences for Alfheim. You know, allow one human in, and everyone else follows?"

"I...I understand," was all I could say. Still freaked out by my 'collectibles' being preserved by Kikyo; I couldn't think straight.

And the queen seeks to exploit it.

"Here's my proposal to you, Yukie. How about you stay with us in Alfheim for a while until we catch Kikyo? Of course, this will be our secret, but we will take care of your needs, including your own house, food, utility bills, and even pocket money. The goal is to lure Kikyo back to Alfheim."

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, let me be clear, I know I said 'proposal,' but it's more of an order rather than a suggestion. Long story short; your options are just 'Yes, I will go' and 'No, I will go.'"

"Then why did you even ask?"

The elf queen said nothing; she only smiled. Suddenly, her elf guards fell unconscious, much to my alarm, though the royal herself remained calm and composed. Without waiting for anything to happen next, I stood up and shielded Lady Aranea using my body. But she grabbed my arm and winked at me.

"Ara, ara! That won't be necessary, though your manliness has been noted. Thank you for protecting me!"

"What?"

Any case, before the queen could answer, I saw Temaire's sword-blade at Lady Aranea's neck, as she slowly dissipated her magic to reveal herself. But my childhood friend wasn't alone; she was joined by Alice, whose pistol was pointed at the royal's temple. And I presume that red laser dot on the queen's forehead was from Rico, whose sights passed through the small opening in the curtain.

Their eyes are like that of dead people...

"Move aside, Yuuki," Temaire demanded. "I will crush this insect who dared to hurt you!"

"No one's hurting me, Temaire! Please withdraw your weapons; you're going to cause a diplomatic incident!"

"Your Majesty!" it was Lady Yanari, who held my childhood friend's leg. "I'm terribly sorry for my adventurers, Lady Aranea! This will not happen again!"

Nevertheless, with all our rudeness, the elf queen only brushed it off. "It's alright, Secretary Yanari. Also, please calm down, Lady d'Anvilles and Lady Sokolova! I'm just chatting with your man. Though, hmm...I suppose I can understand your reactions, as well as to why my daughter is so crazy about him. Mister Yukie may not look like it, but he's a natural charmer!"

-----

My teammates never let me go once they appeared at the place where Lady Aranea's agents brought me, even when the elf guards were dismissed once they regained consciousness. Lady Yanari explained to us that it was a 'safe house' somewhere in Marikina City, which was located to the east of Manila. I don't know, really, because those officers who picked me up in the Adventurers' Agency used teleportation to transport me here.

Well, the secretary of the Adventurers' Agency was informed before of this location, hence Temaire and the others were able to track me.

By the way, why would the agency need safe houses?

"So," the queen went back to her question once the tension largely dissipated. "Would you consider—"

"With all due respect," Alice interrupted her. "No, we won't allow Yuuki to go with you back to Alfheim."

"I...I am not yet fin—"

"No!" Rico's grip on my right arm tightened.

"Ahahaha!!! Such strong feelings of love I've been seeing on your girls!" Lady Aranea commented. "You're lucky to have these beautiful ladies swooning over you!"

"Though I'm not deliberately seducing them; and yes, I appreciate their sentiments..." was all I could say.

Lady Yanari felt compelled to explain to my teammates the arrangement. However, as expected, Temaire fiercely resisted any compromise. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but we just can't afford to have our porter away, not when our team is shaping up. Our performance will surely suffer!"

"And you have no ear to nibble when you're feeling 'hot' at night, yes?"

My childhood friend froze, and I inadvertently stared at her. Is this why I keep dreaming of dogs and cats licking my ears recently?

"The licking is from Lady Sokolova."

"Gah—" Now, even Alice froze. Rico quickly hid herself behind me to avoid the truth bombs from Lady Aranea.

"Nah, I have nothing for Miss Ying," the queen chuckled.

Well, at least our scout is still quite normal...

"Yes, if you consider sniffing your used clothes as normal."

Now I got three frozen and embarrassed ladies. Mind reading is a scary skill...good thing it's limited to wind elves.

"Alright, alright," Lady Aranea messaged her temples. "I hear you. And I won't push my daughter's impulsiveness in you, her former teammates. Look, we only wanted Mister Yukie in Alfheim so we can lure Kikyo back, as well as avoid diplomatic repercussions for her actions. I understand that his absence will be detrimental to your training regimen, so how about we give you permission to cross into Alfheim?"

Rico spoke up. "Pardon for my rudeness, Your Majesty, but Kikyo is also our teammate. Honestly, we plan to invite her back to Oyasumi in the future."

"But Miss Ying, please understand; my daughter is like a 'walking bomb.' You may have a great journey in the past, but she is different now. She has matured, and with it, her abilities as a part-spirit have grown more powerful. Your team might end up having problems because of it."

"Not to mention," Lady Yanari pointed out. "It can also cause diplomatic incidents should she fail to control those. Humans are always looking for reasons to force the kingdoms of Alfheim to allow them in."

No one said anything for a while. What the secretary told was true; Alfheim was largely unexplored, and its vast untapped resources were enough to make the governments of Earth salivate. Well, honestly, I was looking for a middle ground. While we wanted to get OyasumiSe7en back with its former members, there was that politics angle to be considered. And then it hit me...

"Your Majesty..."

"Yes, Yukie, baby?"

Temaire immediately went ballistic; she drew her rapier and was about to cast magic when Alice and Rico rushed to restrain her. But the queen had a smug look on her face; she really had a way to tease people...

And she herself can cause diplomatic disasters.

Anyway, I continued, "As Rico said, we are Kikyo's teammates. So, how about this? Why don't we—as team—find her for you? Not only we can show our abilities, it will also tell you if we can really handle her powers."

The Queen of the Wind Elves weighed her options, as well as my proposal. Then, with a confident smile on her lips, she told us, "You make a good point, Mister Yukie. But let's up the ante; how about I make it a quest, so the entire Adventurers' Agency can get involved? The more people looking, the faster this case is solved, right? However, if other parties get to capture Kikyo first, she will come back to Alfheim. If you guys subdued her, then I will allow her to re-join you."

"Alright then!" Temaire broke free from Alice and Rico, sheathed her sword, and offered a handshake. "It's a deal!"

-----

The next day after that meeting, a silver to platinum-ranked quest appeared on the boards of the Adventurers' Agency. Of course, while other were bewildered by its appearance, we who talked to Lady Aranea yesterday knew it was from her. She originally wanted to have it open even to solo green and bronze adventurers, but Lady Yanari vehemently refused her request. Subduing and capturing Kikyo was deemed a dangerous business, for the elf princess was a master of magic herself; that is, aside from her latent but powerful abilities as a half-spirit of lust. Add to that her usual feisty attitude, and everyone expected confronting her wouldn't be a walk in the park.

So, Lady Yanari compromised and assigned it to silver, gold, and platinum adventurers...

"..."

Now, here was our problem. As her former teammates, Kikyo would surely come with us once she saw us, or we saw her. With that handicap in mind, her mother added another condition...

"It's a free-for-all," Alice told us once she read the quest details. That meant, by technicality, we were all 'competitors' in this quest, even going against my teammates. While the Adventurers' Agency explicitly prohibited adventurers attacking each other, the loophole in that rule was that the aggressive ones could bypass the regulations by claiming it was an 'accident,' stemming from their goal to 'immobilize' the other group. Injuries and deaths caused by 'third-party' events were not counted.

So, for example, I was attacked while out on a quest by causing a construction crane to fall on my hand. The culprit could escape liability for my injuries or death by claiming it was an accident. Yes, there were cases where these idiots were convicted for frustrated homicide and/or murder, but it would take time and lots of money in court to prove the culpability. And, of course, the lost limb or life would never be brought back.

Actually, this is the second top reason for adventurer deaths during dungeon raids, next to being murdered or eaten by the creatures inside. Attempts to change it were met with lukewarm, if not hostile, responses, for the supporters of such measure claimed that 'friendly-fires' were impossible to avoid in a crowded dungeon, and the lack of liability promoted self-awareness on the adventurers' side, pushing them to take 'extra' care of themselves.

Coincidentally, these 'supporters' also came from insurance companies and funeral homes. So, just connect the dots.

"..."

I know it's pure bullshit, but it's the system ever since.

"Look at the reward!" Rico exclaimed, pointing to one of the items listed as 'guaranteed to receive.' It said that the adventurer who would return the elf princess would receive a house and lot property inside the Ambassadors' Quarters in Alfheim. In short, it was free real estate in the land of elves. Other rewards on the list included the usual monetary compensation amounting to 10,000 elvish gold ($30 per gold on exchange rate) and an audience with the royal family in the Palace of the Wind Elves.

"We can finally get around that law prohibiting multiple marriages!" the scout added, clapping her hands.

I didn't want to ask her about that, so I pretended not to hear her words. Besides, I'm more interested in the elvish god than the house in Alfheim...

Nevertheless, the mere thought of owning property within the land of the elves was a great bait for adventurers, especially those who dreamed of being allowed entry to that place. The number of quest takers literally 'exploded' a few minutes after it was posted, that quest givers had trouble signing them up in the online database.

Yeah, Philippine internet bogs down once multiple access requests come in at the same time.

But eventually, we signed up. Or at least my companions. I was technically a 'green band,' so I couldn't possibly take that, or there would be issues in patronage politics within the agency. Eodvig and Steve also joined the search, and I saw them preparing to head out in the lobby.

"Hey guys!" was my greeting to them.

"'Sup?" Eodvig replied with a wave, while Steve just gave a nod. I guess he was still feeling awkward after our previous 'beef,' but as I said before, it was already past me. Eodvig asked, "Did you get your issues with the police sorted out?"

"Yeah, no worries. I'm just seeing off my teammates because...you know, they really have to get this; the quest is a high-rewards mission."

"Right...you're a green band," he shook his head. "It's a pity I won't get to test my mettle against the Dancing Death."

"The Dancing what?"

"Dancing Death. It's what the other adventurers are calling you now, after the name of your martial arts...what is it, again? Yo-yan, or something?"

"Yaw-yan, or 'Sayaw ng Kamatayan,' which is 'Dance of Death' in English." And honestly, it is a lame nickname.

"Well, at least I can show Lady Henrietta my skills as an adventurer," Eodvig smirked. "Might get her to consider myself as a new member of your party. Your team is still in need of members, right?"

"Ah...y-yes." I couldn't tell this fellow that Temaire already rejected all the male applicants; the Adventurers' Agency was the authority in announcing the rejections, however. This was because technically we still accept applications. It was only our team leader that won't consider boys...something that was actively discouraged by the agency, but not entirely an illegal practice.

"Okay, so I guess we're ready to go," Eodvig checked on Steve, and the latter gave him the 'ok' sign. "See you in two days!"

-----

I was not totally 'left out' of the quest, really. In fact, Lady Aranea specifically requested I join her mission; the catch was, if I was the first to capture Kikyo, all the rewards listed would be rescinded, but we keep our elf friend. If any of my teammates captured her, we get to keep the elf princess, as well as the rewards. The original condition that stated, 'should other adventurers captured Kikyo; she goes back to Alfheim' remained.

Of all the three scenarios, it was obvious that the second one was the best outcome. When we all learned about it, Temaire, Alice and Rico asked me to stay put in one location and don't let Kikyo find me.

I must say, the elf queen knows how to 'play' us against each other...

"..."

A dossier was included when they accepted the quest. The document showed details about Kikyo, though they made sure not to include her real name and other personal information that could jeopardize her, so as not to violate agency policies. The reports also indicated that she was last seen in the skies of Makati City, to the south of Manila, having destroyed four police drones pursuing her. Her abilities and skills as a wind magic-user ranked her as similar to a 'Wizard-ranked' mage, which was the highest 'common' level many human mages could attain in the four-rank system of the Society of Mages. There was also a note that she could change her appearance at will.

And yes, that part will really present problems for lower-ranked adventurers.

What strikes me most while reading the information about her was that her abilities as a half-spirit was never mentioned, data which could potentially help other adventurers prepare their equipment accordingly. My hunch said that Lady Aranea deliberately withheld the information, just to make a statement on how dangerous her daughter was...

I can nominate her for the Model Parent of the Year Award...

Meanwhile, like the other adventurers, we were only permitted to bring sidearms and wands (for mages, which was also considered as 'belongings'). The reason was that while the target herself was deemed dangerous, the quest area—the entire thirteen cities and one town of the National Capital Region (NCR)—was considered 'safe' to go around. At most, the only threat the adventurers might encounter was his/her own incompetence...not even thugs and petty criminals could pose a danger to us, according to the agency.

Also, aside from the adventurers of the main branch, others from all the cities of NCR joined us. Then, apart from them, the local police forces were involved in the search, though they were ineligible for the rewards. And finally, Lady Aranea's elf yeomen guards augmented the law enforcers. Lady Yanari made sure the event didn't leak to the media, or this entire region would become a huge arena for competing groups hunting for a lone half-elf and half-lust spirit girl in her rebellious stage.

The quest duration was good for two days. Adventurers who joined the search 'activated' it the moment they stepped out of the agency building. They would forfeit their participation should they return before the deadline, so no one was expected to reappear at the main lobby after two days...or before the elf princess was captured. This, of course, presented a problem for me...

"..."

Temaire, Alice and Rico forbade me from going around in another location, as they thought it would increase the chance of me encountering Kikyo. The plan was that my childhood friend would scour the cities to the south, Alice would head north, and Rico was to search the eastern NCR. Manila was on the western edge, so I was assigned here. They also arranged for us to talk via group chat, so that we could coordinate our movements should we meet the elf princess. However, because the condition that returning to Adventurers' Agency would disqualify us, I couldn't even take a bath...

"Haa..."

Well, I could only wish this stuff would end soon, and in our favor, too. After all, as a Filipino, I was not used to skipping baths...