"We are five hundred gold coins richer, Sora."
"Stop playing with the core. You'll either drop it or Skippy will snatch it out of your hand and eat it."
"Kreek!" Protested the dragon. His perfect plan of getting the tastiest mana crystal he ever laid eyes on foiled. Rats.
They were hiking back to the road. It would be in bad taste to just fly away and leave the knights alone. No, sir. They would see the job done to the end. They were too far away to be eavesdropped by them though.
"Okay." Aidan stowed the Orc Leader core in his breast pocket, to the dismay of a little dragon.
"Just to make sure, how much money do we have? I have no comparison if five hundred is too much or too little." Sora asked.
"I don't know. We have been mooching off the princesses goodwill ever since I woke up. I think the last coin we truly earned was spent with lodging in Gohar."
Aidan laughed. Sora used the opportunity to address a touchy subject.
"What about the undead you left behind?"
"They will crumble in a day. I didn't give them much mana, they don't have enough to form cores. And even if some of them remain, they were ordered to just fight goblins and orcs. They won't even fight back to defend themselves if anything else attacks them."
They reached the road, not too far from where the carriage crashed. They would not make it back before nightfall on foot.
"From here we fly. We recovered enough mana." Dawn announced.
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They returned with the Count waiting on top of the gatehouse again. Aidan went down first.
"Count Marlimar, I came first to announce that we had a resounding success. We found four survivors, and the princess is unharmed."
The Count clasped his hands and opened a smile. His tension was dispelled. If he allowed the princess to be hurt in his fief it would be the end for him. Not as much because he feared retaliation from the Crown but for his own values.
"This is wonderful news, Lord Aidan."
"Indeed. The princess is unharmed." Aidan repeated in a paused, modulated, almost mechanical voice.
"You said that." The wind turned and the Count picked up his scent of death.
"Yes. I told you and everyone here that the princess is unharmed," He said like a town crier. "The monsters didn't touch even a single hair in her head."
Dawn descended with the others. With her bloody uniform.
"Your Highness! Are you..."
Aidan cleared his throat.
"Oh. Of course. Please, please. You must go to my villa and wash this grime off."
"Yes. Count Marlimar, I want these four men and the family of Sir Timberlight present at the dinner celebration. All the men escorting your family are to be treated as heroes. Especially sir Timberlight. See to his kin."
"As you command, your Highness." The Count bowed.
Dawn and Sora went ahead. These two women took too long to wash. Too much hair.
Knight 'vocal' gasped. He reached for Aidan's shoulder. "Is she..."
Aidan smiled and refrained from laughing. He had no idea how evil it would sound right now.
"Yup. She told you she just wanted to be called Dawn, and that is the truth. But she calls Helios 'father' when she sees him."
Casually dropping the King's name without the title was intentional. Aidan wanted to establish his position or they could attempt to smother Sora and him.
"Are you telling me the princess killed an Orc Leader?" Knight 'vocal' spilled the beans in a burst of outrage.
"Yup. And now the surprise is blown."
Count Marlimar looked like he's seen a ghost. "Princess Lumina killed what?"
"An Orc Leader. That thing under wraps is the head, your knights insisted on bringing it with them." Aidan pointed. "And I don't know if I told you, but the princess was not harmed. The Orc Leader never touched her. She had some assistance from the three of us. She didn't reveal her station and also ordered your men to stand and watch, so don't go sporting thoughts of punishing them."
"I'd never think of that."
The Count was probably not lying.
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The sound of crystal being hit by silver echoed in the dining room of the Count's villa. It was time to address the elephant in the room.
"Attention, attention. Tonight we celebrate the exploits of our lovely and brave Princess Lumina. Our House will always be indebted to your Highness, from today to forevermore. Your highness rescued my daughters and brought my wife back from the clutches of death itself with her glorious Sky magic. I am sure that once Elisabeth is recovered she will share the same joy I am feeling today.
"That in itself would be enough, but her Highness' aim was even higher than our wildest dream. A shining beacon of righteousness, selflessness and justice, an example I swear I'll strive to follow every day of my life. She ventured forth into the untamed wilderness and to our shock, she and her companions suppressed an entire tribe of orcs and goblins. Hundreds of fiends unsuspectingly at our doorstep!
"They rescued our brave knights and in the end, our brave Sword Princess Lumina fought singlehandedly against an Orc Lord and won. Her beauty and prowess so mighty the monster couldn't even touch a single strand of her exalted hair."
Aidan forced to not snicker. Exalted hair. He didn't mind that the Count downplayed the previous assault of hundreds of zombies that wore out the orc's stamina and health, the bout of Dragonfire that removed some of his mobility and health and finally the assistance of Sora and him. And he got the name of the monster wrong.
But Marlimar was not done. He pointed at the gaudy round thing sitting in the centermost place of the room covered by a cloth.
"And here it is! A third evolution. The hunter's guild ranked the Orc Leader as a C-rank threat. I have already confirmed with the guild the authenticity of this trophy. And now, without further ado, our Sword Princess' trophy. The Orc Leader's head." An ordinary orc is an F-rank threat for reference. It means it would take five hunters rank F to fight with one or two orcs and win without much damage.
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And the elephant was revealed. Showing the disembodied head of a green-skinned monster in the middle of an aristocrat dinner was not commonplace because such monsters were rare, but it was not in bad taste, otherworlders' opinions diverging in this subject. The gruesome and freshly dead head of the Orc Leader was shown. The Count promised to send the head to a taxidermist for mounting and stuffing. Hang it on a wall Aidan would never get to see again. That would be good, thought the boy.
Applause and cheering, smiles and platitudes. Dawn stood up and thanked the guests, smiling back at their ovation.
They even offered her some family jewels and an upgrade in her hunter ranking, but Dawn declined all rewards. She took the five gold coins the guild offered her, but just because the group was out of pocket money.
It goes to show how skewed their notion of money became since they started traveling with Pearl. Their pocket money was measured in gold coins now. These five gold coins could keep them hosted at the Stout Goblin for half a year. Or maybe the whole year if they bargained and paid in advance. Living in an inn was a luxury though. For that amount of coin, they could buy a small house and pay living expenses for two years.
She got a new title. Sword Princess. Aidan thought it was funny to skew people's perceptions of Lumina this much.
He didn't realize, but deep inside, in a dark recess of his mind, he felt like it was poetic justice.
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The next morning they departed the hour they wanted, just one day later. It didn't feel like a detour though. Aidan got what he needed. The spell to separate Lumina was almost done. They stopped following the road and went higher going by the landmarks of the approaching mountain chain. It would be faster. Nearing the end of their third day since leaving the capital, Aidan was finally back home. Two years later.
He touched the ground and a few servants came from the garden to greet him.
"Welcome back, young Lord. Lady Sora. Little Skippy. Princess Lumina."
Awesome foresight. Too awesome. Aidan looked at them and wondered how did they know. He even knew the answer, but he had to ask. "How did you know who she was?"
"Archmage Astromelicus contacted us ahead of time."
If their seneschal had a bag of coffee ready he would just grab it and fly back. But it was impossible.
"We don't want any external visitors. We just returned to fetch some things."
"As you wish, milord. Dinner will be served in the solar. A bath is also ready for you. Please freshen up before eating."
"Good. Our dirt laundry, see that it is cleaned and free of stains by tomorrow evening."
Despite having only a baronet title, Aidan's parents were very rich. The quests they completed as S-rank hunters were issued by kingdoms and large guilds. And they had all the inheritance of their ancestors. Hiring a God-Slayer was never cheap. Except when he volunteered, like Aidan. Maybe he would need to stay without working for a life or two to squander all that gold. Maybe five gold was pocket money.
They entered through the front door. Home. Two years. All the pain, the troubles, the hospital, the kidnapping of himself, traveling with Pearl, felt like a fairy tale. Dawn remained still while Aidan walked around, touching, feeling, smelling his home.
The pollen from the trees during Spring always made his eyes irritated. Sometimes it would skip sixteen years or more between episodes, that is why he never brought his allergy up. Yes. His eyes were irritated from pollen. For a guy that could shamelessly sit on the King's lap and call him 'father' while putting his voice in the highest register, he could convince himself of that. Pollen, he told Sora. Why was it so hard for Sora to buy it?
"Let's go take a bath and then you can wash your eyes. I think this pollen is getting to me too." She gently led them to the bath.
In the dressing room, there were already three sets of clothing ready for them to change into after. They just removed their clothes and entered, shamelessly. There weren't any divisions by gender. Aidan avoided looking at Dawn though. She was positioned a little behind him and he was focusing on Sora. It was very easy, mostly because he was entertaining some naughty thoughts. The girl wouldn't have it any other way.
"Are you sure you want to leave tomorrow? We could spend a day or two home." Sora asked, bashful. Her tail was underwater. She always did it like that when she bathed with others.
"Okay. But only if you agree to leave my parents' chambers alone. The Vault. And the servant's quarters." It was obvious what both of them wanted.
"Naughty boy. Are you telling me the rest of the house is fair game?"
"Including the bath."
Dawn was left in a corner of the bath, swinging in the waves and imagining how to keep vehicles lacking one wheel from topping over.
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The next day was spent entirely on leisure activities. Skippy went out to hunt in the wilderness. Dawn was sparring outside with the guards. And the household servants all earned a day off with bonus pay for spending.
The fifth day after leaving the capital. Everyone was rested, sated, and properly clothed. Maybe a bit winded from yesterday's taxing exercise, but Dawn could cope with it.
"Why are you nervous, Aidan?" Sora asked.
They were standing in front of a door Sora hadn't the opportunity to see many times, but she knew it was the most important place in the whole house. Located in the basement, the door was made of metal and looked heavy and hard to open. It had a wheel with prongs along its side and a handle. The glowing runes in ominous colors combined with the intentional lack of lighting in the room they were now screamed danger.
"I've never gone inside. Father wouldn't let me in."
"And how do you even open it?"
"It should just open to me if Father was away for more than a year, which he is. And if I am not adopted," He joked, nervous. "Which of course I am not."
"Is it even okay for me to be here?"
"Yes. There is no rule against taking outsiders inside. Father used to bring Helios and Astro here all the time."
Aidan slowly reached for the handle. If any otherworlder saw this door, they would know it was a safe door. It was just like those in a bank. He felt a jolt as magic coursed through him, searching for something. The whole room glowed and sealed itself off from the rest of the world. The big wheel spun, slowly at first but gaining speed. Clanking and cranking sounds echoed. Aidan felt the handle go loose in his hand and he pulled it down.
The door came a little forward. He pulled and it slowly came open. Heavy. It was pitch dark inside.
"Here goes nothing." Aidan's warcry came in a soft and unsure voice.
He stepped forward. The air felt stale. It smelt of wood and old. Aidan couldn't see anything. He thought of casting night vision when suddenly there was light.
Globes of stained glass hummed and flared to light. They were sticking from metal mounts in the walls of this room. They illuminated a reddish-brown carpet, covering the whole floor. They illuminated bookshelves filled with books all around the room. Three doors made of dark wood, the same as the bookshelves. The workmanship on the doors and the shelves frames were superb. Polished, they glistened under the light. In the center of the room a table with a clear glass bottle filled with an amber liquid and some stout short glasses next to it. Four armchairs with fancy leather upholstery. Everything looked old but in a pristine state of conservation.
The bookshelves didn't go all the way up. In fact, they stopped a little above eye level. The rest of the space until the roof was taken by several dozens of portraits. Men, Women. Some of them resembled Aidan just a little. And he found his father. His portrait, actually.
Sora and Dawn entered the room, looking carefully at everything.
"Are these your ancestors?" Sora asked.
Even with two brains, it was hard for Aidan to take all that in. He could imagine these men and woman having this same experience, having this same feeling. To step into a legacy that was as ancient as the history of this world. How much did these former God-Slayers toil? What adventures did they undertake? How much blood did they shed?
At least in the latter department, Aidan could already stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.
"I think so. Even father is in there. And probably I will too, one day."
The teenagers were wary of touching anything. Like it was a dream and they would wake up if they did. Or Aidan's father would come and scold them for being where they did not belong. But the door opened for him. He belonged there. The legacy he avoided for so long came to slap him in the face.
Ominous. A shrine to the world's history, indeed. One historians, Kings and Archmages would pay dearly to even glimpse. Except for Astro and Helios. aidan doubted his father ever took anyone else here. Maybe Lumina's mom.
"There are small plaques with names in the bottom of the frames." Sora noticed. "Some of these names match the text in the spine of the books. Are these journals?"
Aidan chuckled. Did his father read all these books? His father? The one mom always complained about having the brain in the sword and not in the head?
The boy started to cry. Dawn too, after all, they were the same person even though they pretended not most of the time.
Sora followed his gaze. He was looking at a book, one with his father's name written on it. She knew what he cried for. She also felt that pain sometimes. It was a feeling of missing someone or someplace dear, mixed with unfulfilled love, a longing of finding it, the pain of separation, the hope of rejoining, the memories of joy when they had it.
They had no word to describe this feeling. Maybe the otherworlders had one, so keen in making words for everything.
She felt inept. That was a void she could never hope to fill, fluffy tail, quick wits, and enticing female body though she had. But it didn't stop her from trying. Maybe her love could be enough one day. Right now she only hoped it would be adequate.
She hugged the now bawling boy. She pulled in the now bawling girl. It wouldn't do to keep one out. She knew she was crying too. Her tribe. Her parents. Alive but too far away, just like Aidan's.
The three hugging bodies of two people just slid down until they were sitting on the carpet.
And there they remained, surrounded by history, legacy and a bittersweet pain they couldn't put into words.