We enter the palace, into the entrance hall. Me, Nora and the royal bastard follow behind the queen while the rest follow behind us.
The hall is filled with luxuries: Paintings, furnitures and statues along the walls. In the center, there is a large stair that leads to a large door. I remember that behind that door is a large throne room. Usually, the parties were held in there. I visited this place 3 or 4 times when I was a kid, but my memories of it are so vague that I can't compare it today with my time.
We walk up the stairs and enter the throne room. I can sense hostility behind me. I look behind and I see the odd looking guy watching me. He is a light blue mage at least 40 years old, same height as me, has a good physical build and has an eyepatch.
He didn't even pretend he wasn't watching me, and continues to look with a serious face. It's better to avoid hassles, so I simply roll my eyes and look forward.
"Tsk."
He gets close to me and grabs my left arm.
"I'm onto you boy, I noticed how you looked at our queen. If you try anything funny, you'll have to deal with me." - He speaks in a low voice.
"... If you don't want to learn how to fly, I suggest you let go of my arm right now."
"You think you are tough uh? Let me tell you, I might be rank A, but I am more than enough for you."
I sense mana from his hand. He tried to do something but fortunately, my coat negated his mana. I shake off his hand and prepare my right arm to punch him.
"What!?"
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Right arm - Triple Strength*
"AL STOP!" - "DANIEL STOP IMMEDIATELY!" - Nora and the Queen yell respectively.
My hand stops before it could reach him. The queen approaches us.
"Daniel, you worry too much."
"Sorry Master, but I can't take any chances with your life. Not after what happened."
"And you have my gratitude, but please, these two are our guests. Treat them with respect."
"Yes... Your majesty."
"Good, forget my order."
He can move now. The orders are tricky things. The queen ordered him to stop, but because he wasn't doing anything specific, the order made him unable to move. Nora gave me the same order, but since I was about to punch him, the order simply made me unable to attack him, but I could still move. In short, the orders are subjective.
"You ok Al?" - Nora asks.
"Yeah."
"Nora, Alddan, please forgive my Servant. He is just overprotective."
"Don't worry about it aunt, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."
"Since when are you the victim to talk like that?"
She pokes me in the belly with her elbow. - "C'mon Al, don't be like that now." - She whispers.
"*chuckles* I'm glad to see you both have a good relationship." - She looks at me - "But you are right, if things didn't end well, you would be the one injured. Please, accept my sincerest apologies."
I nod.
She nods back. Then looks at the other nobles - "Gentleman, we are not going to have that reunion after all. I want to spend some time alone with my guests and son. If you don't have anything else to say, I suggest you take this opportunity to go home and prepare for the party tonight."
"Yes your Majesty." - They reply and leave after bowing.
"Well, then, let's go to the balcony and drink some tea."
"Sorry mother, but I have something else to do."
"Vanadis, you should take this chance to talk with Nora."
"We will have many more chances to talk. Now, if you'll excuse me."
He leaves in the direction of one of the doors on the right side of the throne room. The queen has a displeased look as she watches him leave.
"*sigh* My son is difficult to manage sometimes... Forgive him Nora."
"He changed a lot aunt."
"Indeed. The old him would have been a terrible king while the current one is praised by most generals. They say he thinks outside the box... I am proud of that fact, but at the same time I feel that he is no longer the son I knew."
"..."
"Don't worry Master, I'm sure he still has a little of his old personality."
"I hope you are right Daniel." - The queen smiles. - "He could learn a bit about courtesies but he is intelligent, so I let him get away with that."
A moment passes.
"Oh well, we can have a fun chat just by ourselves. Let's go to the balcony. It's a lovely weather to drink a tea."
The queen starts walking towards the farthest door on the left wall.
"I wonder what the hell that kid is doing..." - Daniel mutters to himself.
"Probably going to give a lollipop to a certain maid." - I whisper to myself.
...
We are on the balcony, localized in the back of the palace. It's large and it has a table with a parasol. We are drinking tea at the table while two maids and a servant watch over us.
(author note: servant different from Servant, servant is a normal servant, Al is a Servant)
"So I had these dreams almost every night."
"It is unusual..." - The queen looks at Daniel - "Long ago I had a dream about Daniel too. But in the legend, he is a pirate while in my dream he was a highwayman."
"Highwayman are cowards and trash. Yes, we pirates also rob but me and my crew only stole from the crown and fat nobles."
"And now you serve the crown, oh the irony." - I said with a clear tone of sarcasm. But then again, my situation is quite ironic too.
"You wann-."
"Don't answer Daniel."
"Yes your majesty."
Nora looks at me with a disapproving look.
"*Siiiigh* Alright alright, sorry."
"Good." - Nora says.
"Next time is on purpose." - I mutter.
"Al!"
"*chuckles* Oh my, it's so refreshing seeing you two acting like that after spending days dealing with politics and serious nobles."
"I don't know what to make of him sometimes. He really gets on my nerves when he wants to."
"What an ungrateful Master~. Especially considering I helped you this morning with your hang--."
"Shut it!"
And I can't talk. I cross my arms.
"Hehe, it's good seeing you like this Nora."
"Uh?"
"You are always so formal with strangers, even with me earlier. Don't misunderstand, it's good to be formal, but you also need to be flexible." - She takes a sip of tea. - "In the world of politics, a world where you are going to be someday, you need to be the one who pushes the others around to do your biddings, not the opposite. You don't know how to do that. You try so hard to be formal that you overshadow your personality."
"..."
"When you were younger, you fighted for what you wanted, you used to speak your mind. That's a good personality for a queen, especially considering my son is not a people person. You need to be the diplomat he can't be."
Uh, she also speaks as though Nora is already engaged with him.
"..."
"Even around your friends at school you weren't your true self. Not in the same way as you were with my son at least. When you played with Vanadis, you always pulled him in for some adventure. When you saw someone doing something they shouldn't do, you would make Vanadis reprehend them. *chuckles*"
"Aunt, how did you..."
"Sorry dear. I admit, I hired some people to keep an eye on you at school. I understand if you don't like it, but I take care of people that I care about."
"..."
She takes another sip. - "My point is, you changed over the years... But when I see you arguing with Alddan, I swear that I can see a little of your old self come back to the surface. You should use that in your favour and remember who you really are."
Nora is looking down on her tea, thinking. The queen takes another sip.
"*whistle*"
Nora looks at me.
"Oh, sorry Al... Forget my orders."
"You know, your orders are starting..." - She goes back looking at her tea. "... *sigh* Don't worry about it..."
I take a sip of my tea and we spend a moment in silence while the queen has a satisfactory look. Then she looks at me.
"Alddan, I want you to make a promise."
I look at her.
"I know this is ridiculous to ask of a Servant but, please, whatever happens in the future, protect Nora."
That's a curious request.
"Aunt? What do you mean?"
She looks down, but then answers with a serious face:
"Deaestein. If things go wrong, they might be a problem in the future."
"Again? Why?"
"It's for the same reason as last year."
"When Vanadis Servant killed Deaestein prince Servant?"
"Yes."
"But we already paid for it didn't we? The Servant was executed and he can't summon another one ever again."
"Yes, however, Deaestein prince isn't convinced that Vanadis will keep the end of his bargain. And is doing everything he can to declare war and take our northern regions... Fortunately, the king is a reasonable person and he is doing everything he can to censor his son. However, my fear is when he takes over the throne..."
"Would he really declare war on us?"
"If given the chance, yes. He hates my son and he probably will do anything to prejudice him."
"..."
The queen smiles again - "But this is only the worst case scenario, it's unlikely it will actually happen. I don't know what came over me. Forget this silly moment."
We finish drinking.
"Well." - The queen gets up - "Please follow my maid, she will lead you both to your room where you can change for the party."
Same room again?
"Ok aunt. Where should we meet after?"
"A maid is going to call you and guide you once the party starts. Until then, try to not exit the room."
"Alright."
We get up. We bow and follow the maid. But to be honest, I hesitated a little before bowing.
...
Finally, we reach the room.
"If you need anything, please feel free to call anyone. We will happily serve you." - She bows.
I nod at the maid while Nora opens the door. We get inside.
It's a huge room, just like everything else in this palace. It has 4 windows on the opposite side of us, luxurious furniture with gold, one big bed on the left side and another smaller on the right side that seems to have been put there recently.
"Ok, I have to ask, why do Servants and Masters share rooms?"
"It's so we can build trust and intimacy. Or something along those lines."
"Care to elaborate?"
"The Servant and the Master need to trust each other completely and treat each other normally despite any circumstances. During the first human Servants summonings, it was believed that the Servants were the Soulmates of the Masters. Back then, they even had to walk in the nude inside their own rooms."
"Nude?"
"Hmm, how do I explain this... Imagine a relationship, stronger than any other. Like love, siblings, parental, etc. That's the kind of relationship it was imagined a Master and Servant should have. Sharing the room or seeing each other nude helps the process. Of course, today we don't have to be in the nude, but we still have to share the room during the first years."
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Uh. I see."
I walk to one of the windows while Nora sits on the big bed. I watch the servants and maids taking care of the garden.
"Hmm, that reminds me..." - I say.
"What?"
I extract negative mana to fill my coat.
"Tsk, the fucker used 500 mana."
"Seriously!? He could have blown away your arm!"
"It would grow back I guess, but still, it would hurt a lot."
"*sigh*, Thank god nothing bad happened."
"That's because you stopped me. I was ready to give him some flying lessons."
"Haha, no, I was referring to you. I'm glad nothing bad happened to you."
"Oh." - I look again outside.
A moment passes. Someone knocks on the door. I open it.
"Please excuse me, I brought something for the lady Nightingale to wear." - The maid says.
It's a red dress. I pick it up and nod to the maid. Then I close the door.
"This is for you."
"Aunt must have sent it. *Giggle* Of course, I can't attend the party with the school uniform." - She picks the dress from my arms. Then she goes to the mirror to imagine herself in that dress.
"You like dresses?"
She looks at me and shrugs with a smile.
"Aren't you a princess... So, why don't I get something to dress?
"Servants usually use their original clothes on this kind of occasions. Your clothes are a part of you and your legend so it is preferable that the Servant wears them."
"I see." - It's better this way. I feel more comfortable with my clothes anyway. - "Want me to wait outside while you change?"
"If you wouldn't mind."
"Call me when you are done." - I step outside.
...
Later she calls me. I have to admit, she looks good.
...
.....
.........
In the evening, a maid called us to the party. We went to the throne room and sure enough, the place was filled with nobles, maids and food. This would be my dream come true 900 years ago, so many targets in the same place...
The queen announced our arrival and many nobles came to meet me while some kept their distance. Needless to say, it was a nightmare. I limited myself at simply shaking hands, and refused to say anything.
Two hours later, I convinced Nora to leave the party. She wasn't having that much fun either. She asked the queen permission to leave and she gave it.
We went back to our room and went to sleep early.
...
.....
........
In the next morning, we had breakfast and an early lunch with the queen and her Servant. The royal bastard was nowhere to be seen.
Nora said she didn't have any dreams.
Later, at noon, we made our way to the coliseum on a carriage while the queen had to stay behind to deal with some business, or so she said.
The building is inside the old wall, in the middle of the old city and it's is huge. It didn't exist in my time.
We exit the carriage. We are on a separate zone isolated from the public. There are many black hairs already on the other side entering the coliseum. Besides me and Nora, there are some students and nobles with their Servants entering.
A servant comes in our direction.
"It's good to see you miss Nightingale and sir Alddan. Please, if you follow me, I can show you your waiting room."
We follow him inside.
...
We are now inside a waiting room. Each Servant has their own room. Inside there is a sofa, juices, water and Power Crystals.
Nora picks a helmet a gives it to me.
"Here Al, it has 1000 negative mana stored. All Servants need to use this for protection. Remember, you guys may be using helmets, but you still can't target the head."
I pick it up and put it on. The helmet covers the head completely, even the face. It has two holes so I can see.
Someone knocks on the door.
"Yes?"
The same servant as before opens the door. - "It's your turn sir Alddan."
"I guess I'll get going." - I get up and start walking.
"Good luck Al.... Wait." - I look at her. - "Be careful ok?"
"Don't worry." - I give her a thumbs up.
She smiles - "Show them what you are made of."
"Sure thing."
I follow the Servant.
...
I enter the arena. In front of me, there is another Servant with a lance, 20 meters of distance.
"And now, we have Mavin, green mage and rank B, Hero of the Lance, Servant of the Lord Marq, fighting Alddan, white mage and rank S, unknown origin, Servant of the Lady Nightingale."
That's the guy I punched a few days ago.
The crowd cheers. But only for a moment.
The royal bastard is on a private zone with Nora. He gets up and speaks in a loud voice:
"As you all know, the white mage is too powerful and he needs to be limited so we can have a fair tournament. As promised, I will now declare the conditions he must respect."
He pauses for a moment, the crowd is silent. Then:
"He can not use any magic besides Inner Magic and to summon his weapons. He also can't use negative mana."
.... What...? You must be fucking kidding me....
The crowd becomes noisy again. Nora seems to be arguing with him, but he is ignoring her.
"Don't think I am going to hold back asshole." - The other Servant says - "You're going to pay for what you did."
"Whatever." - I summon my sword.
This limitation is a huge disadvantage. I could manage without positive mana, but limiting also my defenses... What the hell is that guy thinking?
"Servants, prepare... Fight!"
"Take that!"
He extracts positive mana and it is quickly coming my way.
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Whole body - Double Accel*
He ignites the mana and makes fire as it was about to touch me. I roll to the right side to avoid it.
I could have just run towards him directly and ignore the mana, my coat would protect me. And he knows that, since each Servant has some kind of protection. However, we can't sense how much mana is stored in something, so they don't know how much my coat has. And I should keep that a secret for as long as I can.
As I get up, he extracts more mana. The previous one, ignited, follows me. I jump forward and run towards him. He directs the new mana against me and I avoid it by rolling to the left side.
Ok, I might be faster than your normal fighter, but he is really slow with his mana.
"Tsk!"
He ignites the mana that I just avoided and launches it at me. I let myself fall to the ground and the fireball passes over me.
I get up.
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Both legs - Triple Strength*
"Damnit!"
I jump towards him. With only a meter between us, I swing downwards my sword at him. He barely registered what happened so he barely managed to repel it with his lance. I take the chance to kick him in his ribs from the side with my left leg.
"Gaahhh!"
He is launched against the wall in this form >. Then he falls to the ground. Both of his arms are bent in an angle that they shouldn't. I wouldn't be admired if all his ribs were broken.
"Stop! Sir Mavin sustained fatal injuries. Sir Alddan is the winner!"
The crowd cheers. I look at them. Then I see Nora, she is smiling, while the royal bastard is grinning, satisfied with something.
Some servants run towards the Servant I just defeated, he's still on the ground. I get out of the arena.
...
It's the final. I defeated everyone up until now. Unlike the first opponent, they gave me trouble. I defeated them all almost the same way as the first. I just rolled around, avoiding their attacks and getting close enough to stab them with my sword. The last one managed to hit me several times with mana, making a total of 3800 mana. It's also a good thing I didn't have to use my bow. It's just another surprise I will be able to use.
My next opponent is Musclehead. He defeated his opponents with sheer power. He bombarded his opponents with mana attacks, forcing them to go on defensive, and then strike them down with his greatsword as he approached without them noticing. Also, his armor is a tough nut to crack. Some managed to hit him with mana, but it got negated by his armor. According to Nora, it negated at least 8000 mana.
But I can't use positive mana, so it doesn't matter.
She checked up on me in my waiting room after every fight, but she didn't visit after the last one. I wonder why?
Someone knocks on the door.
"I'm coming."
It's the servant. It's time for the final. I follow him.
...
I'm in the arena. It's almost evening. In front of me is musclehead. Nora is with the royal bastard.
"... fighting Alddan..." - The announcer is announcing.
The crowd is cheering. He is waving at them.
The announcer finishes.
"Let this be a good fight Alddan." - Musclehead says with a grin.
... Yeah right.
"Servants, prepare... Fight!"
He extracted many parts of positive mana and throwed them at me in succession.
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Whole body - Double Accel*
He ignites each part as they get close to me. I barely manage to evade them. Some are ignited as fire, others as physical force.
I roll around and run. He is not letting me getting close to him.
"Tsk."
Little by little, he is reducing the negative mana my coat has. If I don't manage to get close, I will be in trouble.
"Damnit!"
Finally I see an opening.
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Both legs - Triple Strength*
I jump towards him.
"Ha!"
It was a trap, he immediately launched 950 mana against me and ignites. I could get out of the way (barely), but I might as well take this chance to get even closer. I take the fire directly and my coat annuls it. It must have 3000-3500 negative mana left.
I'm one meter away.
*Type: Inner magic - Location: Both arms - Triple Strength*
I thrust my sword. He quickly repels it with his greatsword.
"What!?"
"You're not the only one who knows Inner Magic."
After repelling my attack, he swings his greatsword sideways. I protect myself with my sword.
This is bad. He has the same speed and strength as me. I only have two choices:
I choose:1: Screw the rules. I'll just go all out.2: This will hurt a lot, but it's the only way to defeat him without breaking the rules.
*********************
Don't use the table below. Use the one above.