Chapter 382 - Pledge V
Claire was not the only one to suffer from a sudden bout of insomnia. Arciel, likewise, lay awake in her room, tossing and turning with her eyes half-open. Though she had hidden it better than most others present that night, she was not at all unaffected by the encounter with the Vernelle house. And just like nearly everyone else, she was blaming herself.
It was really her weakness that had allowed Pollux to remain for as long as he had. She never would have had to rely on him had she been any more powerful or charismatic. She could have driven him out and taken the country with her own hands. Or perhaps if that were impossible, she could have at least chased him away after the fact or convinced him to leave everything to a representative. There were so many things she could have done to change the final result. And yet, she had failed.
Just as she had with Matthias.
Her naivety, her lacklustre combat prowess, and her deductive inability. All of it had come together to hammer her down at once. She was called to pay the price. But her knight had stepped forward and footed the bill in her stead.
It was the last result she wanted to accept. He had been there for her from the very moment she reawakened, the very moment when the moon melted her stasis and sent her off on her quest for revenge. For as long as she remembered, his permanence was like that of the sky. He filled the role of a butler when she had no others at hand, and played the part of an assassin whenever any dirty work was slated. He was very much like a father to her, even though her species had no such concept. But now, he was gone. All because of her mistakes.
She didn’t know how she was supposed to face his wife. In fact, she had run away from one such encounter when she saw her rounding the corner earlier in the day. It would only get worse when she had to deliver the news to their children. She didn’t want to have to say it. Not when it was all her fault.
Arciel was finally beginning to understand why the Cadrian princess behaved the way she did. Claire, at least, had taken revenge herself. Even though it meant throwing her body into a cycle of torment, she had chosen a path that allowed her the power to strike down the murderer who had stolen her companion so she could continue forward without the constant shadow of shame. But Ciel was incapable of mimicking the result.
It barely made sense. She was also thrice ascended. Guided by Griselda herself, she had become the Moonblessed Empress of Tentacles and Blood, a class that doubled as her effective title. And yet, she was lacking in power. She wasn’t weak for her level, and her trump cards were certainly impactful in their own rights, but she remained incapable of her own protection.
Worse yet was the lack of a target at which she could direct her frustration. She didn’t even know who Sophia really was, and it wasn’t like she could blame the Cadrian collective. A blood feud would simply prove fruitless. Cadria’s military prowess vastly exceeded that of her tiny country. They could flatten Vel’khan overnight if that were truly what they wanted. And by all means, they would have been justified in doing so. Claire’s revenge, the lashing out that she did for Lia’s sake, was very much something that she had wished for as well. Given the opportunity, she would have happily ordered the lyrkress to commit the exact same war crime she had of her own accord.
But even disregarding old grudges, she knew better than to paint the entire population as hostile. The Cadrian people, like the Vel’khanese, no doubt differed in their individual beliefs. To declare a blood feud was the height of folly, the sort of foolish act that no monarch ought to commit.
Her knight had died to protect her because she was queen. And to honour his life, she would make sure she saw all of her duties through. But for that, she would need more power. She knew that her goddess had something in store, but she wasn’t content to just wait around until it was delivered straight into her lap.
She had to find a way to be stronger, a way to grow on her own without relying too heavily on the moon’s support. And she decided, as her consciousness faded into the aether, that she would ask the lyrkress for her advice when she woke up the next morning.
___
Claire’s night was another dreamless rarity. Despite not sleeping till dawn, she woke before the clock struck nine, though it was only partly by her own will that she roused. She could feel a curious gaze upon her frame as a familiar voice rattled off about something or other. For some odd reason, it was distorted. It almost felt like someone had wrapped up her ears in a series of blankets and muffled the world beyond, but there was no such attack. A twitch confirmed that her ears were uncovered, and listening more closely revealed that her blood was just as strange. The usual, high-pitched whine was down to a dull roar. Even the beating of her heart was much quieter than it was, in her smallest form.
The strange mix of sensations was enough to jolt her awake. Blinking again, she found that everything was off. The bed was a lot bigger than she remembered, and Sylvia towered over her like a giant. The fox girl’s eyes were sparkling and they only continued to glimmer as she wrapped her arms around the snake-moose and squeezed her as tight as she could.
Claire blinked rapidly when she found that her whole body fit between the half-elf’s breasts. Her face was buried between them, and looking down, she found that the very tip of her tail only went as far as her assailant’s navel. Her shape was similar to how it was in her true form, only much sleeker. She was maybe thirty centimetres long with everything included and thin enough to be compared to one of Sylvia’s forearms.
“Oh my gosh! You’re so cute!” cried the fox. She lifted her a little higher and nuzzled their cheeks together.
“Mreep,” said the lyrkress. The admittedly short string of words she had planned came out as a strange vocalization. It was halfway between a chirp, a coo, a trill, and a purr. It was a bit of an embarrassing sound, but she didn’t really mind it.
It helped that her pet viewed it so positively. The squeak only encouraged Sylvia to hug her with even greater gusto, practically strangling her with raw affection.
“Mrreeep! Mmnnnreep mreep!” Again, she tried to speak, but even the longer sentence came out the same way.
“The sound you’re making is super cute too,” said Sylvia. She made the attempt to squeeze her best friend again, but Claire slipped out of her hands, climbed onto her shoulders, and returned the usual favour by scrambling atop her head. She tried to curl up once she was in position but decided to let her tail hang after finding it impossible to avoid the other girl’s ears. The fluffy triangles were simply packed far too closely together.
The resulting pose came off as uncomfortable until she cut off the problem at its source. Lowering the effect of gravity to roughly ten percent of its norm, she took the stress off her tiny body and almost immediately relaxed. It was a bit of a strange perspective. She was higher up than she was in her usual humanoid form, especially when she stood up on all fours and stretched, but things didn’t look as small as they did when she took on her larger shapes.
“So uhhmmm, what happened?” asked Sylvia. She looked up at the tiny creature, who crawled the tiniest bit forward and bent over to meet her upside-down gaze.
“Mreep.”
“Huh? You don’t know?”
“Mmnreep.”
“You just woke up like that? That’s kinda weird,” she said. “Can you at least change back?”
“Mreerrreeep.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know!? You should probably check.”
“Mreep.”
Claire extended a hand and grew it out to its usual size. It wasn’t difficult; she did it as naturally as she changed into any of her other forms, but she changed right back as soon as she confirmed the function. The tiny body was strangely comfortable. It was a lot warmer than any of the alternatives and the pain that had accompanied her damaged circuits was only a fraction of its usual magnitude.
“Well, I guess it’s probably okay if you can turn back,” said Sylvia. “But it’s still kinda weird that you can’t talk.”
“Mreemreep.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Yes, it is!”
“Mreep.”
“Oh, shush. I bet everyone else is gonna agree with me.” Sylvia started walking out the door, but Claire tugged on her hair and stopped her. “What now?”
“Mmmnrreeep.”
“Oh yeah! Good point. I forgot we had guests.” She walked over to the wardrobe and threw a fresh elven dress over her otherwise dressless form. Claire checked her own clothes in the meantime. The nightgown she had worn to bed had already turned itself into a set of over-ear ornaments at some point or other. They were of the same design she wore in her true form, but she couldn’t help but feel like they fit a little strangely with her body as small as it was. Taking a moment to think, she floated them off her ears and replaced them with a pair of silver bracelets.
“Mreep.”
“Mmmnnn, I don’t wanna. Underwear is way too much of a pain, and I’m just gonna turn back into a fox in a little bit anyway.”
“Mrnnmreep.”
“Sleeping with clothes feels weird.”
“Mrnnnmnreep.”
“Oh, shush! You do it sometimes too!”
“Mrnrreeep.”
“You literally know exactly what I’m talking about!”
“Mreep.”
“Yes, you do!”
The half-elf twisted her lips into a pout while the danger noodle on her head stood up and gloated. It was a set of positions maintained as they left the room, just like the confused stares that sat upon the faces of its other two occupants. Boris and Starrgort, neither of whom were fully conscious, exchanged a pair of looks before shrugging their shoulders and heading right back to sleep.
While the two sentient weapons could easily deny the truth, the maid standing in the hall was not quite as lucky. She froze when she saw the humanoid fox pass by with her qiligon hat and stopped in the middle of opening her mistress’ door.
Arciel, who was still half asleep, walked right into the hardwood, yelping as she bashed her nose against it.
“S-sorry,” said the maid. Myne, as she was called, paled as she recognized the harm to her master.
“It was my own fault for not watching my path,” said the squid. The words came out as something between a groan and a mutter. She entered the hall with a hand over her face and wobbled right over to the halfbreeds. “Good morning, Sylvia. Good morning, Claire.”
“Morning,” said Sylvia.
“Mreep,” said Claire.
The trio silently continued on their way and descended the stairs, as they would on any other morning.
“Uhmm… are you not gonna ask about Claire?” asked Sylvia.
“I see no reason to.” The queen raised a fan halfway to her lips and failed to cover them as she yawned. “I presume that she has simply taken on another shape, as the two of you so often do.”
“Mreep,” said Claire.
“No it isn’t!” cried Sylvia. “There’s no way that’s reasonable! And how come you’re lumping me in! She’s the one that’s always getting new forms!”
“Mnrrreep.”
“Yes, precisely. It is because you often transform us into all manner of creatures and provide hallucinations that I have no intention of even attempting to understand.”
“Mreep.”
“You shut up, Claire! You’re not even trying to be reasonable!”
“I believe that to be in line with her typical behaviour.” The squid twisted her lips into a bit of a smile. “I am uncertain of the sense it makes to assume rational behaviour on her part.”
“Oh, shush! Now you’re just teaming up on me.”
“Mreereep.”
“I also do not have the faintest clue as to whatever it is you are suggesting.”
“Oh, fine! Whatever!” The defeated fox puffed up her cheeks and drooped her ears.
“Now that we have defeated our nemesis, Claire, I do happen to have a question,” said Arciel. “What manner of training is it that you are always doing? I am aware that you practice your control over your spells in your spare time, but I haven’t the faintest clue as to the rest of your progress.”
“Mrnnreep.”
“You train in your sleep? However do you manage that?”
“Wait, wait, wait!” said Sylvia. “How the heck are you understanding her!?”
“The same way you are, I presume. I am simply reading her body language and tone.”
“I literally only know what she’s saying because I’m reading her mind!”
“Mreep!”
“E-er, I mean, I can’t read minds at all!”
“Mreep.”
“Shut up, Claire!” The vixen crossed her arms and huffed. “I know you know, but you’re not supposed to say it out loud!”
“Mreernreep.”
“Well how else am I supposed to understand you!?”
“Perhaps, you may find it much easier than you may be expecting, should you simply disable your magic and make an honest attempt.”
“Mnnnn…” Sylvia scrunched up her face. “Alright, I guess I can give it a shot.” She waltzed over to the kitchen counter, set her pet on the table, and stared into her tiny slit eyes. “Uhmmm, can you say something?”
“Mreep.”
The foxgirl cocked her head and furrowed her brow. “...Can you try saying it again?”
“Mree—wned.”
“Huh?” She blinked. “Wait, I think I might be getting it!”
“Sylv—nree—ever owned.”
“One more time!”
“Sylvia Redleaf is the dumbest pet I’ve ever owned.”
“It worke—hey, wait a second! What the heck is that supposed to mean!?”
Claire tilted her head. “It’s simple, really. If I took all the pets I’ve ever owned, put them in a line, and ordered them based on how dumb they were, you’d be at the front.”
“What the heck! That’s just rude! Right, Ciel?”
She turned to the squid to complain, only to find her in the midst of fighting back her laughter. It was a losing battle. Arciel soon broke into a side-splitting cackle. She wheezed and pounded her fist against the table as she collapsed into one of the chairs.
“Uhmmm… Ciel?”
It took a moment for her to calm. Her breath still a little ragged, she pushed herself into an upright position and cleared her throat.
“Sylvia, I do believe you have been tricked.”
“Huh?”
“It pains me to inform you,” she laughed, “but you failed to see Claire through.”
“Huh? I did?”
She looked at the lyrkress, who innocently tilted her head and mreeped.
“I’m pretty sure I heard her loud and clear.”
“That would be because she said the words in Marish.”
“Oh.” Sylvia blinked. Thrice. “Wait a second! Claiiiiire!”
“What?”
“You’re such a meanie.” Sylvia flopped onto the table, grabbed the danger noodle, and pulled her up to her face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mmmrnnnphhh.” The fox sighed. “That’s like the third time you’ve said that today!”
“No, it isn’t.” She slithered out of the fox’s grasp and returned to her position atop her head. “As for the question you asked earlier, Ciel. I think his answer will probably be better than mine.”
She pointed one of her tiny hands out the back door and guided the squid to the human in the backyard. It was still early morning, but he was completely covered in sweat. The salty liquid glistened off his half-naked body. If it wasn’t clear enough before, it became immediately apparent that his age had done nothing to diminish the extent of his musculature.
He was far from lean, but there was no needless fat on his frame, only bulging veins as thick as the qiligon’s talons. He looked like he could have been specced in strength, even though dexterity was clearly his forte.
The only part of his body inconsistent with the rest was his dominant right hand. The blade that he held was slowly turning his fingers purple, but he showed no sign of slowing down. He continued to swing, duck, and weave. It wasn't like he was oblivious to the sounds in his surroundings, but he shut them out and continued to focus until Arciel approached.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Morning.” He took a deep breath and lowered his blade. “What can I do for you?”
“I wish to hasten my leveling. Would you happen to know of any locations worth visiting in Paunse?”
Belyaev paused for a moment to ponder. “There are a few. The ones in Paunse are half decent at least, but shift yourself over the border and you'll find yourself doing even better.”
“Is it the Kryddarian border to which you refer?”
“Yeah, there's a dungeon called Crimson Ro—”
“Bell.”
His words were cut off as the familiar nickname rang through his ears. The old human couldn't stop himself from looking its way and finding the dog-faced lady to whom it belonged.