Wait… This was exactly what Prisca told me, right? She knew that… How did she know the statue would be destroyed like this? Oh no, did… Did a noble make ties with her? Oh my god, no. No. No, no, no!
Barden moves towards Prisca and asks her with agitation clear in his face. His arms grip her shoulders, though he is careful not to treat her with too much force. His worry is justified. Moving into the sights of a noble might as well be a curse for demihumans.
If a single demihuman is perceived by a noble, their entire bloodline might disappear one day, so the thought goes. Barden can only ask her, his voice shaking.
“P-Prisca, how do you know that noble?”
The peach haired beastkin looks up at her with a worried expression. She had definitely seen it as well. To Barden and his confidants, she might as well have made it happen, her words willing an unbelievable event into existence. Even she’s worried about Shaula’s identity. However, her eyes lock with Angelidis, a smile on her face.
The young draconid girl doesn’t seem to have any worries at all. Prisca decides that there’s no point in worrying about it right now. She’s already made her choice, let what’s going to happen happen. She turns back to Barden with a cold expression.
“Barden… you remember your promise, right?”
Prisca simply chooses to ignore his question, her face being fearless right now. Barden feels slightly intimidated by her lack of worry. It seems that… she has faith in that noble woman, whoever she was. He doesn’t believe he taught her to be naive. Her instincts concerning people might be even more honed than his are.
“…Come on, Barden, you heard her, didn’t you?” Angelidis speaks up. Barden had almost forgotten she was there standing behind him. She shares Prisca’s lack of fear while also having some smugness in her expression. Barden can tell that she also knows what’s going on.
So, he has no choice but to follow the promise he made.
No sense wasting time now, she’s not going to offer anything up until I get myself to safety.
The gray feathered man first has one of his confidants, an adept sound mage, to cast a sound amplification spell on his vocal cords. This was something that he had also done earlier. Barden asks for one that will be effective for just a minute.
He’s not going to be talking long.
He stands there considering the situation of that day as his friend prepares the spell. He wonders if this is all some kind of dream that can’t make itself clear about whether it’s a sweet dream or a nightmare. Though, he just can’t imagine that woman’s shining, divine appearance being anything his mind could conjure.
Considering how absurd his day has gotten, he smiles. He smiles wide, displaying some ferocity. He starts chuckling as the sound magic takes effect. He laughs louder and louder.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
He notices the area around him, and the entirety of Maz square itself, quiet down. He slowly tapers off his laugh, a couple tears coming to his eyes. He wipes them away.
“Ah, forgive my laughter, my friends… It’s not everyday you see something like that happen, is it?” Barden stifles a laugh again. Several of his admirers in the crowd chuckle as well, some scattered laughter going through the crowd.
However, most of the crowd in the square, even the people who wanted the statue demolished, are just awed and confused by all they have seen. None of them have ever seen a noble “descend upon the world” before. Barden puts this consideration into the back of his mind as he speaks.
“Well, I just want to say, wanted to ask really… Why is everyone still standing around here?” He inquires, his voice affecting genuine confusion. “Let me tell you what everyone should take away from today. The statue. Is. Gone!”
The crowd starts clamoring with some shouts of affirmation.
“There is no good reason for us to remain here! They’ve failed! They’ve failed so spectacularly, this might be an event that you’ll tell even your grandchildren! They came here with intentions of violence, of bigotry, of human supremacy protected through the force of… well, we of course know who’s on their side, don’t we?”
Barden sneers, and the crowd erupts into some boos mixed with slightly malicious laughter. Whether he’s talking about the barony, the church itself, the Federation, or humanity in general, they’ve all thoroughly failed today.
“I’m going to leave to see what’s going on in that area with the fire. There might be some people in need of help, don’t you all think? It’s time to leave, everyone! It’s time to… celebrate!”
With that final sentence, the crowd cheers loudly. The human supremacists within the audience consider whether they should riot, but they only feel thoroughly humiliated. To have their proclamation of human supremacy rebuked directly by someone who they can only believe is a noble; it’s nothing but an embarrassment.
The statue marchers are completely dazed, unsure how their efforts failed. A few of them mourn their compatriots who were trampled to death. The guards are angry but the crowd starts leaving completely through one exit.
So many demihumans bunched together, it might not be a good idea to shake up that hornet’s nest.
***
Shaula hears Barden’s words from afar as she wanders to a specific alleyway. Her body is still covered in bright reddish light, hiding both her face and her nudity. However, she cannot return to help either the demihumans leaving the square or Ajax, without clothing.
She had prepared for this eventuality. In the middle of the statue march, after Barden gave his first speech in the afternoon, she had realized that she and Ajax might both need a change of clothes today. In case they needed to strut their stuff, as it were. As a result, she quickly popped back home, bringing with her a cloth bag of clothing for herself as well as some spare stuff for Ajax.
She hid it in an alleyway behind some street trash. It was still waiting for her where she had left it. Those who saw her enter the alleyway in her shining form fled the area rather than confronting or following her. Shaula was free to wait for her body to reach a more manageable temperature, something that took about two minutes.
Her body is quite thermally conductive. It is able to increase in temperature when she applies her heat, while also returning quickly to the temperature of human homeostasis, 37 C, in the absence of her heat.
Shaula changes into her spare clothes, a warm yellow dress and a pair of light brown shoes made of something like suede. She even has a different head covering, a convenient lily white scarf.
She nonchalantly exits the alley way in her new clothes while sprinting back towards the square.