Emilia spend a few more days in the dungeon for a few more days but she wasn’t treated badly. The jailor had taken her cuffs off so although she couldn’t leave her cell, she was free to do what she pleased. Because Leferon and Forthon were so close together, much of their culture was the same as well. Thus, she would spend time talking with the old jailer about battles the old jailer had lived through, practicing magic, or reading the books provided in her cell. On the fifth day, the old jailer opened the cell door.
“His Majesty has decided on your sentence. I’m sorry dear, but I have to place you in these again.”
“No, that’s fine. I’m ready to accept any punishment as long as the king keeps his promise.” With that, Emilia turned around and and allowed the old jailer to cuff her legs together. She then put her hands behind her back and allowed the old jailer to place her in handcuffs.
“I’ll lead you to the throne room then.” The walk from the dungeon to the throne room only took about ten minutes, even with Emilia’s mobility restricted by the chain. When they got there, it was empty except for six people.
“Hey Grandma, what took you so long? We’ve been waiting forever.”
“Quiet down, Medony. You’re in the throne room. Besides I may not be as fast as I used to be but I can still beat down a couple of younglings!”
“Alright now, settle down. As I was saying, Barton, I want you, Dulhan, and Medony to go to Forthon and take down the blue skinned man and his accomplices. The only one known is the king’s new wife but I’m sure there’s more.”
“You can count on me. Now that Glenn is back you’ve got enough protection. We can leave as soon as you like.”
“Your words flatter me, Prince Barton. Thank you for your confidence in me.”
“That’s good. Now then. Princess Emilia, you said that you’ll accept any punishment I choose?”
“I’ve been prepared for death since leaving Forthon. As long as you uphold your promise I will accept anything.”
“Very well. Madam Ellis, please remove the restraints on the princess. Princess Emilia, I sentence you to guide Prince Barton and his group to Fothon and help them take down the people controlling King Charles.”
““What?”” Emilia wasn’t the only one to voice their surprise.
“Come on now everyone, calm down. If you stop and think about it, this is the best course of action. The three of you have never been to Forthon let alone its royal palace so it’s obvious you’d need a guide. Emilia grew up there so who better to have as a guide? Besides, Barry, you know for a fact that she won’t be a burden in a fight and she’ll probably fight harder because it’s her family at stake.”
“But Arthu-
“Or is this because she beat you up? Come on, little brother. I didn’t think you’d be this petty. Either way, my mind is made up. Since you’re going to Thulmok, take her as well. She could probably use new equipment as well.”
***
The royal smithy was at the very edge of the palace grounds. After all, striking hot metal was loud and hard work. As his brother had ordered, Barton lead Emilia to the royal blacksmith. Although the long walk took nearly half an hour, Barton barely said a word. Finally, Emilia couldn’t take the awkward silence any further.
“Why are you acting so cold toward me? If it’s about beating you then once again, I truly apologize. However, we are going to be spending quite a bit of time together in dangerous territory so if you have any grudges, I prefer you settle them before it gets us killed.”
“I-it’s not like I have a grudge or anything. But still, you don’t have to worry about me abandoning you on the battlefield or anything. The very least I can do for comrades fighting beside me is to protect them. If you’re in danger, I can cover your back. I can promise you that. Oh, the smithy is just past here.”
The royal smith was quite large, spanning about a three hundred meters wide and a hundred meters long. After all, this was the smithy that provided most of the army with its weapons. Working the metals were both dwarves and men, tirelessly pounding the red hot iron. As they entered, a white haired dwarf who stood about a meter tall approached them. “Well if it isn’t the royal brat. I heard you got your ass beat and even broke my equipment.”
“Nice to see you too, old man. So assume you heard the news from Medony?”
“Who are you calling old? I’ll have you know I’m at the peak of my prime. But yeah, she and Dulhan came by yesterday to get some replacement equipment. Apparently you younglings are going on another mission so soon? So the king wants you all to have inconspicuous replacement equipment right?”
“Yeah. We’re going to another country though my brother wants us to keep a low profile so even if our equipment weren’t damaged, we’d want equipment that doesn’t draw attention to us. Besides, it’s only going to look generic right? Anything you forge is a masterpiece after all.”
“Hahaha. Flattery will get you nowhere, kid. Oh yeah, who’s that behind you?”
“Oh, this is Princess Emilia of Forthon. Our mission is to free her father from whoever is controlling him.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr…”
“Thulmok Horgoth at you service, missy.” Suddenly, Thulmok walked around, circling Emilia, studying her like she was a rare animal. “So you’re the one who handed this kid his ass, right? Mage and Assassin… Alright, I’ll come back to you after finishing with this kid. Stay here for a bit. This shouldn’t take long.” With that, Thulmok lead Barton into his office.
“Alright, take out your equipment. I want to see how much work I have to do.”
With that, Barton took out both the equipment for his Knight Class as well as his Ranger Class.
“The Ranger equipment is in decent condition. Since your brother wants you to use different equipment anyways, leave it here so I can upgrade it. Got some great stuff from my trip this time and I can’t wait to try them out. Lots of things changed in the 20 or so years since I last left this place. Now let’s take a look at the Knight equipme-! By the gods, what the hell did you do to this equipment, brat?!?”
“Well that armor’s been through a lot recently. First I fought a hydra and then I fought Emilia and now you just slammed your fist down on it.”
“Enough with the jokes brat! You never had a talent in them anyways. Seeing the equipment in this state… I guess the little missy outside isn’t to be trifled with. I guess it’s gonna be pretty hard on you in the future.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I saw the way you were looking at her. You like her, don’t you? Well I guess it’s about time. You spent all these years training and ignoring both men and women so I thought you were asexual! Well I guess now I know what type you prefer.”
“W-w-w-what? N-n-n-no! You’ve got the wrong idea! I-”
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“No need to deny it kid. I’d be much stranger if you didn’t find her attractive. She’s not a dwarf and even I think she’s beautiful. Well back on the subject of your armor, honestly I’m surprised you’re still alive. Pretty much every enhancement circuit I’ve inspected is fried and the armor plates are beyond salvaging. I’m going to have to overhaul the whole thing but with the new materials I got… oh I can’t wait! Looks like I’ll have to do the same with your shield as well. Your sword, Ascaltine, is okay but I think I’ll reforge it with new materials as well just to keep it in line with the rest of your equipment. It was one of my masterpieces after all. If you come back from your mission in one piece and equip the stuff I’ll have done, you’ll reach whole new heights.”
“I look forward to that, old man. Don’t let me down.”
“Oh but before you go, equip these. Your brother didn’t give me much time to work so they’re not as refined as the old stuff but they should be more powerful. After all, I made these as prototypes to test the new materials I got.”
Barton tried out his new equipment. First was the Knight equipment, a metallic grey full body plate armor, shield, and sword. Although they felt heavier than his old equipment, they still felt like an extension of himself and he had no complaints. It was the same for his Ranger equipment which had a brown cloak and silver breastplate. However, the bow and the swords were separate weapons because the Sword-bow had been an original creation of Thulmok’s and would likely draw attention. “Yeah this equipment is fine. I’ll see you when I get back.”
“Sure thing, kid. Now call in the missy in here. I was told to equip her as well. Oh, and stay in here as I’m equipping her. It’ll be better to get used to her equipment now than accidently mistake her for an enemy in a fight.”
Barton left and a minute later, lead Emilia into the office. “Prince Barton told me you were going to give me new equipment?”
“Yeah. His Majesty said to make Mage and Assassin equipment for you but since I didn’t have your measurements, I’ll have to make some last minute adjustments.”
“M-measurement?”
“Don’t worry, you can keep your clothes on. This old man doesn’t have such hobbies and I wouldn’t do it when young man is in the room as well. Besides, I’ve been a blacksmith for over 200 years. I can tell your measurement and prefered movements with a glance. Just take out the equipment you’ve been using and I’ll do the rest.”
With that, Emilia took out her Mage and Assassin equipment. “Since I’m already upgrading the equipment of those three, I might as well do it for yours too. Oh, this is the equipment you’ll be using for now. Wait a moment, the adjustments shouldn’t take too long. Done. Now try equipping them and tell me if anything feels wrong.”
Emilia equipped her new Mage equipment first. It consisted of a white button shirt with a red and pink skirt reaching the middle of her thighs. On her back was a red mantle that extended to her knees and in her hand was a metal wand with a gemstone on its tip. Aside from the color, clothing was actually quite similar to the Mage equipment that she had used against Barton. However, she found that she could move much better in it, almost as if it were part of her.
“I can feel mana around me much better with this equipment and it feels as if my body is suddenly lighter.”
“All the equipment I make have enhancement circuits in them that improve mobility as well as strength. Just wait until you get into battle. Looking at your old equipment, I guarantee at least a 20% increase in your firepower. Also I didn’t do to bad with the aesthetic design if I do say so myself. What do you think, brat?”
“I think it really suits you.”
“I thank you for your compliments.” Still impressed, she tried the Assassin equipment. However, she was in for a shock.
“What?!”
“What’s the matter? Does something not fit?”
“Why is there so little material!?!” The Assassin garb that Emilia had previously worn was a full body black suit with a hooded cloak that concealed her body so much, Barton and Arthur couldn’t tell her gender originally. However, the clothes she was in now left little to the imagination.
Although it still included a black hooded cloak that could hide her body, the garb underneath was entirely different. There was a small button shirt that emphasised her cleavage and left her navel exposed. Next was the skirt that was barely any longer than the skirt on her Mage outfit. She didn’t mind it in the Mage Class and even wore one of similar length with her casual clothes because she wouldn’t performing any high jumps or feats of movement. However, the Assassin Class depended on high mobility and she feared a skirt this short would expose something that shouldn’t be exposed. The final part of the Assassin garb was boots that extended to her calves and stockings that extended just above her knees, leaving a small amount of exposed thigh between her skirt and the stockings.
The Assassin garb was the total opposite of her usual demeanor. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t see how these were Assassin garbs. The only part of the equipment set that Emilia agreed with was that her weapons, daggers hidden in secret compartments and gloves with a retractable blade. Emilia awkwardly struggled to cover herself while Barton hastily turned around, his face quite red.
“Oh, that. No need to worry about that. Assassins depend on mobility so what better way to increase mobility than to decrease the weight and wind resistance of excess clothing?”
“But I’m practically naked wearing this!” Emilia was a princess and she had learned long ago to keep her emotions in check. However, these clothes were just too shocking for her. Her face was crimson with embarrassment. “What kind of advantage would an Assassin have wearing this?!?”
“...Well if the opponent is a man, they’d probably be too distracted looking at your body to notice you attacking them maybe? And if the opponent is a woman… maybe she’ll be jealous that you have such great clothes? What do you think, kid?”
“...”
“I’m begging you, don’t you have anything else?!”
“Now, now, young missy. Calm down. It’s a bit too late for me to redo your Assassin Garb. After all, it’s made primarily of cloth and I work much faster with metal. It’s also got enhancement circuits so you’ll get an increase to your strength just like for your Mage equipment. Just use it for now and tell me what you think about it after you come back. Now I have to get back to work.”
With chuckle and an amused grin, Thulmok stepped out of the office, leaving Emilia in the room herself trying awkwardly to cover herself with her cloak and Barton facing the wall.