Chapter 117:

Year 2: The Heroes Descend - Chapter 7

The Children of Eris


Three weeks had passed since the summoned heroes arrived in Aangapea and, for the first time, the four leaders of the Free People’s Alliance were watching them train from a raised gallery.

“Shogun Akechi.”

“Yes, Lady Sakura?”

“What are your opinions on Hajime Sakamoto’s team?”

“May I speak freely, Lady Sakura, your highnesses?”

“Of course.”

“Then, I shall be blunt. Whilst the individual abilities of each team member have room to blossom into remarkable talent, they are currently not even close to blooming. In particular, Lord Hajime’s leadership skills are questionable at best.”

“Oh?”

“Unfortunately, despite his overall passion and desire to grow stronger, he is unable to properly vocalise this to his team, and his instructions are often delivered with no authority behind them. Conversely, the team appears to listen quite closely to what Lady Akane says. Out of the entire team, she seems to be the most capable in terms of intellect, battle prowess and charisma.

“Unless Hajime Sakamoto starts to show signs of improvement; gain more confidence in himself and a greater sense of authority, I shall be suggesting to Dante and Lord Hajime’s team that they should change their leader.”

“Thank you for your time, Lord Akechi.”

“Of course, your highnesses, Lady Sakura. Then.” With a polite bow, Akechi excused himself and returned to mentoring Hajime’s team.

“Dissatisfied, Princess Hiiragi?” Alexander asked.

“Hardly. I simply hoped that our heroes would grow stronger more quickly. This is still fully within my expectations, though.” She deployed her fan across her face. “I do wish that Akechi’s team had shown more promise.”

“Young Hajime, eh? I remember him being quite loud when we first saw them, now he’s as timid as a wood mouse.” Bernaught grunted. “Bravado with no spine?”

“Or perhaps confidence that has been shaken?” Dorothy wondered.

“Regardless of what it is, I think he’s got something in him.”

“Why’s that, Alexander?”

“My gut tells me he’ll do great things.”

The other three monarchs went silent.

King Alexander was famous throughout the world for his intuition, and it was rarely ever wrong.

Perhaps he’s closer to an unforged sword, Bernaught thought. Shogun Akechi could be exactly what he needs. That Dante fellow said he chose the mentors for each team for a reason - maybe he saw that too.

“What about the rest of you?” Alexander asked. “Has anyone caught your interest?”

“Akane has, even before my dear Akechi told us about her talents,” Sakura said. “Despite her noble baring, she has a warrior’s spirit and the intellect to rival that of my husband’s, a feat few men or women can claim to have.”

“Lord Duncan’s team in general have spoken to me,” Dorothy answered with a pleasant smile. “Their dedication, teamwork and skill seem to be leagues ahead of the others at present. Leadership wise, Duncan seems to have the best temperament for the role too.”

“I’d have to say that Kayleigh lass - her Divine Artefact, Járngreipr - I can tell that’s been made by a master among masters,” Bernaught mumbled.

“Oh, do tell, Chancellor Bernaught.” Sakura smirked. “What did you see?”

“Power.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s exactly what I said - raw, untamed power. If Kayleigh can learn how to wield Járngreipr properly, she could be the strongest of them all.”

Like King Alexander, his fellow monarchs also possessed unique talents of their own.

Princess Sakura was well-known for being able to read a person’s intentions, history and personality from a single glance.

Queen Dorothy was a powerful spirit mage, capable of conversing with the invisible elemental beings that existed in the air. They would often whisper to her in gentle, hushed voices what they had seen and heard on the wind, and it always provided her with great insight into the world and those living in it.

Chancellor Bernaught had originally been known as Bernaught the Haarth-forged in honour of his great accomplishments in the Dwarven Steel Works, crafting some of the finest treasures, weapons and armours the world has ever seen. Even after he became a politician, he never lost his skills with a hammer and anvil, nor his keen discerning eye for the crafts of others.

Each had identified the ones they believed were worth their immediate time and attention, and each had now marked the others their fellow monarchs nominated too.

Sometimes, I have to ask myself if it’s possible for us to lose a war against any foe, with our talents combined, Sakura thought.

Suddenly, the sound of rushed footsteps drew close.

“Your highnesses, please forgive the interruption!”

“What is it?”

“We’ve just received word from the east! The Demon Emperor’s fleet encroaches upon the free cities beyond the Green Mountains.”

“How long ago was the message sent?”

“It was dated five days ago, your highness.”

“Which means that the attack would either have commenced or be underway as we speak. Keep us informed of this matter above all else.”

“Yes, Princess Sakura!”

“…The Demon Emperor’s finally making his move,” she whispered.

“So, it would seem,” Alexander agreed. “He’s been silent ever since the failed liberation of Themis and now he seeks to further solidify his control of the east.”

“A logical decision on his part. He cannot hope to fight a prolonged war on two fronts.”

“No, but there is something more concerning about this, isn’t there?” Dorothy asked.

Sakura deployed a fan across her mouth. “How did the Demon Emperor build such a substantial invasion fleet in less than five months?”

Bernaught grunted. “Whatever the answer, it doesn’t change what we have to do.”

Indeed. Brave heroes from another world, please, become the strength we need you to be!

***

After seven duels back-to-back, Duncan was finally declared as the winner of the match, defeating Brenda four times to her three.

Exhausted, they both panted heavily as nearby servants rushed to provide them cups of ice-cold water.

“Thank…you.” Gratefully, Duncan slowly took sips from his cup as Brenda sat down on the dirt, guzzling her drink down almost in one go. “You okay?”

Brenda nodded. “Little frustrated, but that’s all.” She finished her drink and handed the cup back to the servant. “We’re both using the same techniques, but you always seem to be a bit quicker.”

“And yet I still lost three times.”

Brenda shrugged and slowly stood back up. “I think that was more luck than anything. I mean, look at you and then look at me.” She pinched her upper arm muscle. “We’ve been doing the same things each and every day, but your body’s got a bit more toned whilst I’m still lagging behind.”

“Brenda, this is just a thought, but perhaps those second desserts you’ve been having might be the cause,” Stephanie chimed in.

“Hey! You said it wouldn’t matter if I worked a bit harder!”

Stephanie laughed. “Brenda.”

“…What?”

“Who is always the last one to wake up and joins us for our morning runs?”

“…Me.”

“And who is it that always gives up first?”

“Alright, alright!” Brenda sighed and leant on Surtur. “It’s not my fault; I always struggled getting out of bed and.” She smiled sadly. “Mum always woke me up, so I never really set alarms or anything before coming here.”

Right…Duncan smiled warmly at her.

After their somewhat awkward introductions to one another during their first days in Aangapea, it had become an unspoken rule amongst the heroes never to pry into each other’s pasts unless that person in particular was opening up themselves.

Brenda died after watching her mother pass away; Duncan and the others on his team had heard Brenda talk to her mother in Heaven late at night, but no one brought it up with her.

“Steph, you can’t talk about the morning runs either,” Duncan mused. “You always complain that there’s better things you could be doing with your time and whatnot.”

“Well, there are! I could be in the library from dawn till dusk, learning about the histories of Aangapea, its religions, its scientific discoveries, its magics and more, but instead I have to run for an hour every morning under Chelsea’s regime!” She let out a frustrated groan. “After I skipped three times in a row, Chelsea threatened to break my door down and drag me onto the field in my pyjamas if I still refused. That devil!”

“Sister Stephanie, I will not have you speak of our dear instructor like that,” Feng Li said. “Chelsea is a wonderful teacher and mentor, and she is far from a devil.”

“Feng, I don’t think she was serious. Also, Steph, you don’t mind Feng calling you ‘Sister’?

Stephanie shook her head. “I asked him to. I was an only child, so it’s quite nice having someone call me their sibling. I did try and ask him to call me ‘big sister’, but Feng refused.”

“Of course. You are not my elder, and thus you cannot become my ‘Elder sister’.

“…Feng, my friend, you don’t have to take everything literally you know.”

“Stephanie.”

“What’s up, Blake?”

“I don’t suppose you found a way to change the spells set in my rings yet?”

“I’m afraid not, sorry. But actually, can I see them again?”

“Sure.”

Blake held up the ten rings on her fingers to Stephanie who began closely inspecting them one at a time.

“Damn.”

“W-what?”

“I thought I’d found the language the inscriptions were written in, but it’s slightly different.”

“How so?”

“You see this upwards diagonal line above this ‘5’ looking letter? In Ancient Aangapean, that would indicate ‘life’ or ‘rebirth’. With that line though…I have no idea what it means.”

“Couldn’t it still be Ancient Aangapean?”

Stephanie shook her head. “None of the books I’ve found on Ancient Aangapean say they have lines like that on their letters. I guess, hmm, what’s the best way I could describe it? You know how back in our old world how almost all modern European languages mainly originate from Latin? Well, just like how French and Italian have their differences from each other and Latin, so does Ancient Aangapean and today.” Stephanie chuckled a little. “After all, modern Aangapean seems to be just English with another name.”

Which begs the bigger question of how the language changed so dramatically over a few thousand years, Stephanie kept to herself.

“So, how many other languages are there in this world?”

“About forty or fifty, I think? I’ve started learning three on my own time and Chelsea hired translators who can read another six, so it’s a decent start. The problem is.” Stephanie opened the Book of Thoth once again and showed them its first page. “This page alone is written in at least a dozen languages and, so far, the most I can read from it is basic magic any mage can use today.”

“I mean, it’s better than nothing, right?” Duncan tried to reassure her, but it didn’t seem to soothe her frustrations.

“It’s also really impressive that you’re learning three languages at once,” Blake chipped in.

“Well.” Stephanie puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hip, a smug look on her face. “I might not look it, but I was always getting the highest grades in my year back at school!”

“Were you studying for a particular goal or anything?” Feng inquired.

“Oh no, I just like learning new things. In that sense, Aangapea’s an absolute gold mine for someone like me.”

“And other people’s worst nightmares, I imagine,” Blake grumbled, glaring hard at Dao Chen in the corner of the field by herself.

Despite Chelsea’s attempts at getting Dao to work with the rest of Duncan’s team, Dao had continually refused to even try and take part in team activities. She stuck to Chelsea rigorous training routine, but she always made sure to keep to herself.

In the mornings, Chelsea had asked them to all get up at sunrise, run for an hour together, then get ready for breakfast and the day ahead. Dao would either wake up earlier than the others or find a different part of the palace grounds to exercise in.

“…How’d it go the other day?” Blake asked Brenda.

“Not great. I asked if I could join her for lunch, she said no and that was it. I tried sitting next to her yesterday and then she got up and moved as far away from me as possible.” Brenda awkwardly laughed. “I wonder if I’m hated or-”

“I don’t get her.” Blake folded her arms and frowned. “Why doesn’t she even try to get along with us?”

“I’m sure she has her reasons.”

“We all do. Even the guy with no memories is kinder than her, and Kayleigh’s been giving him stink-eye since the first day.”

“Everyone, I don’t mind you taking a break, but please don’t forget that the leaders of the alliance are watching!” Chelsea called to them.

“Yeah, guys, keep slacking off! It’ll make my guys look much better!” Dante joined in.

“...Shall we get back to it?”

***

After the heroes’ training ended, the four monarchs returned to the war room.

They gathered around the gigantic wooden table of Aangapea, covered with icons of towers, banners, swords, demonic visages, and ships with paper littered across it.

Since the Demon Empire’s rise, it had become extremely hard to acquire information pertaining to the situation in the east. Count Barthlow had an impressive intelligence network embedded throughout Aangapea, but most of the ones inside the Demon Empire had either been killed, captured or forced into hiding.

Each of the monarchs had, before the fall of old Themis, had their own agents in every city in the east, but only a handful of them reported in regularly. This limited the information the Free People’s Alliance had access to greatly and it was near impossible to smuggle additional agents or reinforcements through the Demon Empire’s borders.

Thus, they had no choice but to rely on what little threads they could grasp, and they came quite infrequently.

Carrier pigeons, daring rogues risking life and limb to jump between the two halves of the continent, and even some brave civilians aided the alliance, but the monarchs still lacked a clear insight into the Demon Empire’s strengths and weaknesses.

Today’s report of the attack on the free cities beyond the Green Mountains was of particular concern and, as such, they had summoned an emergency council of the alliance’s highest-ranking officials and generals.

“What do we know of the free cities’ strength?”

“They have some eighteen thousand men, mostly volunteers, conscripts, and mercenaries, to protect the mainland and the mountain passes. Our reports indicated that the Demon Emperor’s forces struggled to overcome the mountains due to the rough terrain, and the effective guerrilla warfare the cities waged against his horde. Perhaps that’s why they’ve decided to engage them from the sea.”

“Ha!” Alexander roared. “What idiots they must be then. Everyone knows that the Federation has one of the finest navies in the world. To challenge them at sea with inexperienced men is most foolish.”

“Remember not to underestimate our opponent, Alexander,” Sakura reminded him. “If the Demon Emperor has chosen the sea over the land, there must be a reason.”

“I thought that the two northern counties had whittled each other down considerably before the empire’s attack. How many ships do you think they still have?”

“Two hundred, your highness,” a general answered. “They aren’t all fully manned with sailors, but they should prove to be quite effective nonetheless.”

“Unless…the creature that wrecked the Twin Cities Lake appears,” Bernaught grumbled.

“If such a fierce creature were to appear, it would be a difficult battle for the navy,” Dorothy agreed. “Perhaps that monster is what the Demon Emperor is counting on.”

“A beast can be slain, but.” Sakura unfolded her fan across her mouth. “How many would die before it fell?”

“…Enough to allow an assault along the coast,” Alexander mumbled before sighing. “We can-”

“Your highnesses, my lords and ladies! Forgive the interruption!” The exhausted messenger cried, before almost collapsing. “W-we received word from the east! The free cities have fallen!”

“What?!”

“How?!”

“What does this mean?!”

As the whole room descended into chaos, only Sakura and Bernaught remained calm.

“Messenger.” The Dwarven chancellor bellowed. “What day was that message sent?”

“F-f-four days ago, my lord!”

Bernaught sighed heavily. “Then, the east is truly gone.”

“Unfortunately, so.” Sakura shut her fan with an impressively loud bang. “There’s no time to waste then.”

“Agreed.” Alexander stood from his chair and roared, “Send word to the borders at once! Strengthen our defences in the north, east, south and in the seas as much as you can! Start unveiling the pre-war policies we drafted for civilians who wish to fight. Spread word far and wide of the coming darkness and the strength we need to defeat it.

“Let the people know of the strength of the heroes, and that the light of freedom shall never be extinguished! And!” He narrowed his eyes and glowered. “Keep this from the heroes for as long as possible.”

***

“Good work today, Duncan.”

“Thank you, Chelsea.”

She smiled as her lips wrapped around her pipe. Then, after taking a deep puff, she asked, “Do you think you’ll be ready for your first assignment soon?”

“Already?”

“Already?”

“…Right, I know. It’s just-”

“Don’t worry about it so much.” She lightly slapped his shoulder. “You guys will be fine. They’re not just going to thrust you onto the frontlines after a month and a half’s worth of training. They’re planning on getting you guys to help out with the Adventurer’s Guild for two weeks next month.”

“Really? Will we be sent away from Rhodes?”

“Hmm, not really? A team or two will be sent to a nearby village or town, but the rest of you will be working out of Rhodes’s guild. It’s part of King Alexander’s grand plan to show the world just how powerful their brave summoned heroes are.”

Duncan chuckled a little out of embarrassment. “I hope we don’t disappoint.”

“Duncan.”

“Right, sorry.”

Chelsea smiled again before taking another deep inhale from her pipe. “The monarchs were really impressed with you guys today.”

“Really?!”

She nodded. “Especially Princess Aeila.”

“The princess was watching us too?”

“Not officially, at least.” Chelsea giggled. “She disguised herself as a maid and came to watch, with my permission.”

“Is that why you were stood on the side lines today?” She nodded. “I didn’t even notice her.”

“Well, you haven’t really had a chance to be introduced to each other properly. Although.” Chelsea grinned. “She had plenty to say about you.”

“S-she did?”

“Yep. Her highness said that you were really strong and handsome, and she kept asking me questions about you. Way to go, Duncan.”

“C-Chelsea!”

The two laughed heartily together before returning to a peaceful silence, like their nights usually did.

It had been a few weeks since they started meeting at the stone steps late at night, but it had quickly become the part of Duncan’s day he looked forward to the most. On some level, he knew that Dame Chelsea had to feel the same way for she seemed to relax around him and speak to him as if they were old friends.

When was the last time Chelsea could really relax and let go like this? He often wondered.

He would never dare ask her such things and, more importantly, he was happy that she was able to relax around him.

“Hmm.”

“W-what?”

“Nothing - just didn’t know that you liked younger girls.”

“Huh?!”

Chelsea shot him a toothy grin. “Don’t deny it. After I told you what she said about you, you couldn’t stop blushing from ear to ear.”

“That’s because I was embarrassed!”

“Embarrassed? About my beautiful princess crushing on you? Are you saying she isn’t worthy of you?”

“N-no, not at all!”

“So - you do like younger-?”

“Chelsea, please stop it. It’s not like that!”

“Well, she only just turned seventeen a few weeks ago, so I wonder if you’d be willing to wait that long for her highness to grow older.”

“Chelsea, I have a lot that I’d love to retort right now, but I’ll simply say that I don’t like younger girls.”

“Hmm? Really?”

“Really.”

“Then, are older women more your type?”

“Huh?”

Chelsea took another inhale from her pipe. “Well, if you don’t like younger women, then surely you must like older ones?”

“I mean, I’ve never really thought of it before to be honest.”

“Seriously?”

“I mean, yeah. I’ve just gotten crushes on people before and not really thought about their age. Instead, it’s more just - ‘Oh, I like that person’ I guess.”

“So…you’re saying you don’t mind older women then?”

“W-well?”

Chelsea stared directly into Duncan’s eyes, putting a lot of pressure upon him to answer correctly. Flustered, he turned away from her and said, “I-I don’t mind, older women.”

“Good. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be a reward.”

Something soft pressed against Duncan’s cheek.

It stayed there, pressing gently against his quickly warming skin before he turned to face Chelsea.

Then, something soft touched his lips for a brief moment.

Still stunned by what had just happened, Chelsea giggled at him and whispered, “Aren’t you happy to have a beautiful knight kiss you?”

“I-I-That’s not the point!”

“Oh? Then, what’s the point?” Chelsea leaned in close again and smirked. “It made your heart skip a beat, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Did you…hate it?”

“…No.”

“Oi, look me in the eyes when you answer,” she giggled. “Well, I guess I’ll leave it there for tonight. I wouldn’t want you to get so red you couldn’t look at me again.” Chelsea stood up, brushed herself down and then playfully rubbed his hair. “Goodnight, Duncan.”

“G-goodnight, Chelsea.”

“I hope you have sweet dreams.”

After seeing the boy who had just had his first kiss become flustered, Chelsea laughed once again and left with a skip in her step.

When was the last time I ever felt like this? She wondered, almost like a maiden in love.

T.K. 月狐
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EliteWarrior910
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