The day had passed uneventfully for many. As the glimmering sun began to set across the horizon, people made their way to their dinners, whether it be at home or at an inn. It was the same for those whose days were in fact quite eventful as well. The members of Alpha Squad sat in the erected mess hall in base camp over a bowl of hot stew made from the supplies they’d brought from base. At first they thought the report from headquarters that their teammate Mahmood had made it out of his courageous last stand in one piece would bring back their appetite, but after hearing what he had to say about what he was up against, they’d promptly lost it again.
“I swear, what kind of fucking heat are those freaks packing?!” muttered Sergeant Natalie Murphy through clenched teeth. “And how the fuck did Artyom deal with them for so long?!”
“I’d figure it was his personality and good looks,” replied Christina through a spoonful of stew in her mouth. It’d been sitting there for several minutes now.
The other members of her squad tried to smile at her joke with varying levels of success, but it wasn’t enough to bring back their appetites.
“So what are we supposed to do about them?” asked Sano, the attempt at comedy having done nothing for him. “If mithril rounds can’t even pierce their skin, then how are we supposed to fight them?”
“There’s always artillery,” replied Keoki. “And if that fails there are those other secret goodies they keep hidden away from us lowly grunts. Besides Sano, TOAL didn’t just deploy assault squads. The mission is just to get Artyom out of here, and that Tommy kid afterwards. We technically don’t have to kill a thing if we can help it.”
“Well, we did kill things,” retorted Sano. “Those Kobolds for one.”
“On about that again,” mumbled Christina. “Would you rather they shot us first?”
“It’d justify us to strike back, at least,” replied Sano, his voice beginning to raise.
“Of course, because one of us has to get hit first for you to actually be useful!”
They both rose from their seats simultaneously, staring each other down with fists clenched.
“Hey, hey!” shouted Sergeant Murphy. “Knock it off, you two! Do you even realize what you’re saying to each other?!”
The conversation immediately died down as the two combatants sat back down and looked at their stew in contemplation. Christina finally swallowed the food in her mouth and sighed.
“I’m sorry, Sano,” she said. “That was out of line, even for me. I guess the stress of everything going on is getting to me, but that’s no excuse. To be honest, I also feel a bit bad about the Kobold situation, but what can we do? They were going to shoot us, and they shot at Artyom when he first showed up, even when he didn’t raise a finger against them.”
“It’s ok, I forgive you,” replied Sano with a sigh. “I honestly keep forgetting about what Kobolds and similar species are like in other Worlds. I’m sure I’ve told you all of what it was like when I was first Isekaied.”
“Yeah, I remember,” said Christina, looking up from her bowl. “A bog-standard fantasy World and ‘hero of prophecy’ setup. But what you did completely turned the prophecy on its head while still fulfilling it.”
“Yeah!” exclaimed Keoki. “It said you’d bring about liberation and enlightenment for the oppressed, and everyone thought it was about the people who summoned you from their Dark Lord, right?”
Sano nodded in reply.
“But then after your first mission to kill a tribe of goblins, you realized that they weren’t the mindless monsters they’re made out to be in all of the shows you watched back home,” said Christina. “And you ended up taking their side to free them from human oppression. Even helped them build a super progressive society and everything. From the few anime I’ve heard of, I figured you’d have gone commando on them or something! Seriously, there was this one show that I just heard about the first episode and it put me off of anime altogether, ugh!”
“I think I know what you’re talking about,” replied Sano, his face softening. “And it was only thanks to that first episode that I ended up realizing what was going on! I wanted to be sure whether or not goblins were as bad as that anime, so I took the time to investigate their society first, and that’s how I figured it out.”
“What do you think you would’ve done if they were that bad?” asked Keoki.
“Hm, how do the Americans put it?” asked Sano.
“Bring them ‘freedom’?” “Kill it with fire?” “Rip and tear?” the other three opined.
“Yes, all of those things!”
The teammates of Alpha Squad all let out a hearty laugh, letting loose much of their silent tension. Sergeant Murphy took a bite of her stew, savoring the safety of its familiar flavors. Going from one mission to another with little chance for rest, along with the threat they faced today, made a very cranky team out of its normally affable members. She was at least thankful they had a chance to wind down and catch some respite now. If only that would be enough to carry them through the rest of the mission.
Thunk, thunk, thunk.
From the edge of basecamp came a very distinct sound that the particularly observant would be able to make out. Sergeant Murphy happened to be one of them.
“God dammit!” she shouted, shocking the members of her team out of their newfound peace. “That was sniper fire just now, we’re probably under attack!”
The others looked at her for only a second more before shoving as much stew into their mouths as possible, knowing they’d probably be called into action very soon. They didn’t want to be caught in a fight for their lives on an empty stomach.
They finished up half of their bowls before pushing the rest aside and getting up to put on their armor. As they got dressed and equipped, they strutted outside of their tents, waiting for the call to action.
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Outside of the camp, hidden in the shadow of twilight, seven figures bedecked in midnight skulked their way towards their enemy. Under orders of the Dark Lord’s Spymaster, they were to initiate first contact with these newcomers. In this case, that meant killing each and every last one of them.
They didn’t need to speak to make their intentions known. They’d trained their entire adult lives for missions like these and knew their protocol by heart. Skill after Skill helped to conceal their presence, from their footsteps along the soft grass to the reflection and absorption of the day’s last light off of their clothes. They were virtually invisible. Emphasis on virtually.
From far away, at the very edge of TOAL’s basecamp, came a low thunking sound and a flying projectile. So small and quick that it was just as stealthy as the assassins, it flew through the air and into one of their heads. What was seven became six, as one of their numbers fell back. When the others looked behind them to see why their compatriot wasn’t keeping up, they saw a pool of red where his head used to be.
From where the bullet began its deadly journey sat a man dressed similarly to his targets. Rather than black however, he was dressed in the swirling dark greens and browns of a camouflage print. Without the benefit of Skills, he had to rely on natural tricks against the human eye to hide his presence.
“Target down,” said the man calmly into his headset, not taking his eye off of the scope of his sniper rifle. He lined up his next shot at the now standing assassins and pulled the trigger. The enchanted hammer of his gun struck the bullet, completing the force spell’s enchantment matrix on its flat end and launching the ferrous slug through the barrel. Several magical electromagnets along its shaft sped it up even further, until it was fast enough to compete with a modern Earth sniper shot while almost entirely silent.
“Man, I never get tired shooting this thing,” he joked.
“Will, please keep the chit-chat for after the targets are taken care of. I don’t like distractions,” replied a terse, feminine voice through the headset.
“Sorry Yi,” replied Will. “Next target down.”
Two more assassins dropped to the ground.
“Nice shot, by the way,” he said. No response back, of course.
Two more shots from him and the rest of the assassins were dead, not even realizing who was attacking them before it was too late.
“All targets neutralized,” said Yi.
“So now that we’re done, why do you think they’re sending assassins after us so quickly?” asked Will. “They definitely look the part, according to Artyom’s reports.”
“Alpha Squad’s chance meeting with them today,” replied Yi, matter of factly. “Probably traced back their emergency teleport, seeing as how they’re good enough at rune magic to be able to jam Artyom’s phone.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Kind of dumb for a ‘stealthy assault’, though. We saw them coming a mile away thanks to all of the scanners around the base!”
She nodded silently. “They got through sonar and Detect Life, but the radar caught them… somewhat. They ended up coming up as a blank space on it, and it didn’t take much thought for the techs to radio us to check it out. Usually you save that kind of effect for aircraft where the surroundings aren’t solid enough to reflect the radar light back.”
“Huh, I’m pretty glad for all of that redundancy, then. Usually Detect Life is all you need, or radar for anything non-living like golems, or sonar in case they have reflective coverings. Uh, yeah. Nevermind. Hooray for redundancy.”
The pair of snipers continued to look around the field for any missed enemies. Alpha Squad stood around for the next half an hour, battle ready, waiting for the call to arms that never came. By the time they got the all clear, Sergeant Murphy sighed to herself. She figured they weren’t going to get anything close to a real break for a long while.
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Not all of TOAL’s agents went through the hardships of Alpha Squad that morning, and many of them were able to retire for the day with sailing spirits. Of which included Annabelle and the other members of Delta Squad, who were finally arriving back at their inn just in time for dinner.
Annabelle opened the creaky wooden door and walked into a well lit room bustling with the hubbub of the dinner rush. She dodged a waiter holding several plates of food on her way inside and walked over to the table seating her friends.
“So, how were your days?” she asked her teammates as they each sat with glasses of Sparkle. “I had a pretty fun time, and I learned a lot about the town and the hero’s prophecy.”
“Same here!” replied Ray. “There was this strongman weight lifting competition going on that I jumped into, and I won third place!”
“Only third?” asked Ramirez. “I’d figure someone like you would’ve earned first.”
“It’s flattering to know that you have such a high opinion of me,” he replied. “But I didn’t have the benefit of levels or System support, unlike everyone else. It was a miracle that I was able to place at all! None of the other competitors knew how to properly lift, posture and all, so I was able to squeeze through. I swear, there was this one guy who hugged the barbell and lifted it with his back! But after the competition, I wasn’t able to get any information about the hero. Even the two who placed better than me freaked when I suggested they join him on his quest. Apparently muscles are all they’ve got.”
“Ha! That definitely beats my day,” replied Aidos. “I mostly did what the sergeant here asked us to do and gossipped around with the locals. Despite everyone gushing about the hero, nobody really seemed to know much about him. When I asked for details on his quest, they looked at me funny and said to go ask a priest instead! Can you believe the nerve of these people? That’s no way to treat a king!”
“Oh, I can believe it alright!” exclaimed Ramirez. “But things went even worse for me! It all started when I was trying to find the more ‘unsavory elements’ of the city…”
“I knew it!” shouted Sergeant Mike. “I knew you were looking for hookers!”
“What?! No I wasn’t!” replied Ramirez indignantly. “Wait, why did you say it like that? Were you watching me or something?”
“...Maybe.”
“You know, it really hurts to see you not trust your own teammates like that, Sergeant! You’ve wounded my fragile heart!” said Ramirez, dramatically putting his hands over the left side of his chest.
“Well put a bandage over it, that’s my prescription,” replied the sergeant. “My job is to keep you all out of trouble, and I was looking after each and every one of you, so don’t feel like you’re special. So, you were saying?”
“Mmh, that makes sense. In that case, I forgive you,” said Ramirez. “So, my day. I did the usual things I’d do to find the criminal underbelly of a large city, like talking to the street urchins, finding the seediest bars around, and walking down dark alleys in the bad parts of town.”
“And how did that go?” asked Annabelle. “No wait, I think I already know.”
Ramirez nodded. “I couldn’t find a single urchin, the worst bar I could find was just normal dirty with no secret back rooms for gang meetings, and whenever I walked down an alleyway, someone would walk up to me and ask if I was lost and try to give me directions! You’re supposed to mug someone after using that line, not offer help!”
“Wait, really?” asked Annabelle. “Not just you, Ramirez, the town and its people are squeaky clean. Is that really how it went for all of you?”
The men nodded in unison, dour looks on their faces.
“Because it went really well for me.”
Nobody said anything, waiting for her to continue, their looks morphing into curiosity.
“So I started by talking to people about the hero and his companions, and I got the same speech as Aidos did. But then someone mentioned knowing one of his companions, and how they helped her and her fellow villagers out when they were at their lowest point. Apparently she’s a refugee from a nearby village that was attacked by the Dark Lord last week, and she made a big deal about this person who showed up out of nowhere the day before and saved them. She was talking about Artyom!”
Everyone’s eyes went wide at the revelation. Aidos looked like he was about to spit out his drink, but forced it to stay in his mouth.
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“Don’t look at me like that!” backpedaled Annabelle, putting her hands in front of her defensively. “This was like two days after he arrived and she hadn’t heard about him since, except for the part about him travelling with the hero for a bit. So that information is out of date, except for the fact that he made some friends here.”
The others looked disappointed.
“But I did follow up on the lead about asking a priest, so I visited the local church. The clergy inside were really happy to talk about the prophecy and what the hero was up to. In fact, they even said that he’d be heading to a dungeon named ‘Crystal Kobold Crossing’ next! I read about the place in Artyom’s report and I heard Alpha Squad was going there yesterday, so I called to let you know, Sergeant.”
“Thanks for sending that information to me when you got it. They actually got back this afternoon after ‘making contact’,” said Sergeant Mike vaguely. They were still in a public place and he didn’t want to give away their intentions. If anyone asked, they were just big fans of the hero and one of his companions in particular. “I wanted to wait until I could tell everyone together, but one of their members suffered some pretty heavy injuries while holding off his ‘fan club’. Apparently even a Heavy’s three-layer protection isn’t enough to handle them.”
Everyone paled. Here, they’d all thought themselves nigh-invincible with their highly advanced weapons and armor that combined the arcane with modern day technology into a loadout that could turn anyone into an unstoppable juggernaut. And now, they’d learned that they weren’t as unstoppable as they’d first thought.
“And let that be a lesson to you kids,” Sergeant Mike continued. “There are always bigger fish. So don’t get cocky and take chances like that. This isn’t the Magic School Bus. When you make mistakes and things get messy out here, it usually ends up being with your guts. But that’s why we’re taking it slow. So good job everyone, and especially you Annabelle for having a good enough head on your shoulders to actually follow up on leads properly. As for the rest of you, I get that you’re operating the way you normally would on your first Worlds, but try to get a handle for what it’s like in other places first and keep an open mind.”
His charges looked at him with somber eyes, scared of the world around them but thankful for their good fortune. They didn’t have any time to express that sentiment with words, however, as the door to the inn opened and in walked a very peculiar woman.
Peculiar wasn’t the right word to describe her. It better reflected the effect she had on everyone in the room. Covered in flowing amber locks and a striking shin-length blue satin dress that delicately wrapped itself around an absolutely perfectly curvy figure, the new girl had all eyes turn to her. Most patrons stared slack-jawed, captivated by her beautiful face and gorgeous form. The married men and straight women still gazed upon the veritable Venus, but out of a mostly innocent sense of appreciation for her beauty… mostly. Even Annabelle’s heart skipped a beat when she saw her.
The other members of her team, however, quickly turned back to their conversation. The entire inn was flooded with pin drop silence, Alpha Squad’s continued conversation being the only noise that dared to pierce the hallow quiet.
“So where was I?” asked Sergeant Mike, heedless of the disapproving eyes on him that judged his audacity to find something more important than the lady who just walked in. “Good job Annabelle for adapting to the situation and properly following up on leads. To the rest of you, don’t always expect things to go how you expect them to. There’s a whole multiverse out there, and things aren’t always the same between these different Worlds, and especially not with Earth. I hope you’ve learned an important lesson today.”
The others nodded, Annabelle halfheartedly so, her attention still partially on the lady walking into the inn. Other patrons started to look away and return to their previous conversations, bringing back the old sense of normalcy to the room.
“Alright, now for the next part of your mission,” the sergeant continued. “People come to inns for dinner and entertainment, usually in the form of gossip. So this is the time to start plying them for info, and make sure to steer the conversation in a way that actually keeps their interest so they don’t leave. Especially you, Aidos. Auras won’t always make up for talking to a brick wall.”
“Yeah, I’ll work on that tonight,” replied Aidos. “And learn to mingle with the commoners.”
“Good,” said Sergeant Mike. “Well, we’re not going to learn anything if we’re just sitting around together like this. Order yourselves dinner and get mingling.”
The members of Alpha Squad nodded and left their seats, hopeful to make up for their earlier lackluster performance. Something deep down told them that tonight would be interesting.
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After a long day of running around, she could finally relax. Lyseris had arrived at the city of Eastgate that morning and was thoroughly unimpressed with what was waiting for her. She’d talked to the people around town and didn’t get anything helpful from them. Just dumb looks and comments about how she should “ask a priest” or “why does a pretty girl such as yourself care so much about what you’d find in a sermon?”. How well and dandy it was for her sisters to send her along with nothing but a vague location and description of who to be on the lookout for. People who were different had a tendency to stick out like a sore thumb around here, so she didn’t think it’d be that difficult to find them. But with how absolutely plain everyone here was, her target obviously must’ve taken that into consideration.
Flicking her amber hair to the side, she strode to the bar to grab herself a drink. Dozens of eyes followed her along as she did, but she paid them no mind. She knew she had that effect on others. She walked up to the bar and ordered a glass of cherry Sparkle, having to repeat herself to get past the bartender’s surprise at being graced with being chosen to take her orders. Having that effect on people took work, but Lyseris would’ve been lying if she said she didn’t like it.
“I haven’t seen you around town before,” said a man sitting next to her. “The name’s Corne, pleasure to meet you.” He extended a hand and warm smile to Lyseris. The bartender placed her drink down next to her at the same time, eyeing her potential suitor with curiosity and envy.
“That makes one of us,” she replied, not bothering to look away from her cup.
Corne slowly lowered his hand, the smile on his face joining it as they both fell towards the floor. As he turned away and went back to his own drink, Lyseris took a sip and began to look around the room. The few eyes still staring at her turned away as she looked past them. Most of the conversation still going on wasn’t very interesting to her, and nobody looked particularly out of place. She was about to give up hope on finding out anything useful here either, until she overheard something interesting.
At a table close to the nearest corner of the room, four men and a woman were chatting about the Great Hero and his quest. Lyseris perked when her ears picked up their conversation and its disparate details. “Following his trail” and “Crystal Kobold Crossing” she understood, but the rest sounded like their friends met him but were driven off by his other fans. They probably did something to upset him or his party and had an angry mob chase them out of town, or something.
Lyseris snickered to herself at what sort of trouble they must’ve gotten themselves into. She quickly finished her drink and looked back at the group, whose members were now breaking away and heading to different corners of the inn. If they were outspoken fans of the hero, maybe they’d know more about who she was looking for? It wasn’t much to go on, but they were the only ones around here who came close to being a potential lead. Combined with the fact that they ignored her when she first showed up, Lyseris was especially interested in them now.
There were four men in the group, four choices on who to start with. Eeny, meenie, miny… him. Lyseris rose from her seat and slowly approached the light bronze skinned man who found a new place at the head of a large table alongside many others. They were all chatting amiably with each other, despite being total strangers, the man at the front leading the direction of the conversation.
All of their talk died down as Lyseris sauntered over to a free seat next to him. She licked her lips as she slowly lowered herself into the chair, eyes locked on the man, every muscle movement a deliberate action. From her peripheral vision, she could sense all of the eyes on her now. She knew they would be an inconvenience, but after a quick shift of her focus, they looked away and began their conversation anew, sans Lyseris and her target.
“Hi there,” she said, head resting on her hand, being held aloft by an elbow on the table. She focused her smile and eyes into a showcase of desire. “So, what’s your name?”
“Aidos, pleasure to meet you,” replied the man.
“Mmh, same. I’m Lyseris.” She took a long breath and sighed through her smile. Now she had him.
The two stared at each other for what felt like minutes, before Aidos broke the silence.
“So, how can I help you?” he asked, a polite smile on his face.
“Well,” she began again, playing with a lock of her hair, “you could start by telling me about yourself, and buying me a drink.”
“Buy you a drink? Sure! If you’re low on money that’s nothing to be ashamed of, a true noble such as myself always helps those in need!” he exclaimed, flagging down a waiter to order drinks for them both.
Lyseris’ smile froze with her mouth agape, morphing into an awkward expression. “Uh… it’s not that I’m poor, you know. That’s just what guys do for girls they’re interested in…”
“And I am interested in you!” Aidos replied cheerily, his pearly white teeth gleaming through his curly beard. “I’m interested in helping anyone who has the courage to ask!”
Lyseris’ eyes began to glaze over after hearing that line, her mind scrambling to come up with a way to salvage the conversation as she focused her gaze directly onto the clown sitting in front of her. He replied with the same mocking, innocent look. As they continued the staredown, their drinks arrived and the sound of the mugs clanging against the old wooden table snapped them out of their battle.
Aidos took a sip and sighed contentedly at the flavor. “Ah, I love cherry. How about you, are you a fan of the fruit?”
Lyseris grabbed her mug and quickly downed its contents, letting the burn of its bubbles sliding down her throat remind her that she wasn’t in some kind of nightmare. “Yeah, big fan,” she replied hoarsely, as she arose from her seat in a dejected stupor. “And thanks for the drink,” she said as she tossed a silver coin down next to him. Aidos had bruised her ego more than enough, she wasn’t about to let him get away with calling her poor on top of that.
“It was nice talking to you!” said Aidos, as Lyseris walked away. He then looked down in consternation and whispered to himself. “Damn, I screwed it up again! I was sure I was using my aura right that time, but she really didn’t look like she wanted to be friends. I guess Ray was right about scaring people away if I lean on it too hard.”
One down, three to go. Lyseris walked over to the next member of the group and sat herself down next to him on a stool at the bar. He quickly glanced over at her with a smile, before returning to the meal he had ordered.
“Hey, whatcha eatin’?” asked Lyseris, a pleasant yet curious look on her face as she leaned closely to him.
“Meat and potatoes, it’s pretty good,” replied the man, leaning away from Lyseris at the same angle.
“Mmh,” she replied. “I’m Lyseris, by the way. Nice to meet you!”
“I’m Ray,” he replied, his smile still polite despite his awkward posture. “Uh, how can I help you?”
“You know, that food of yours looks delicious,” she said, licking her lips with a seductive gaze right into Ray’s eyes. “You think I could have a bite?”
“Oh, if you’re hungry I can afford to buy you one too.”
“I’m not poor!” shouted Lyseris, her look turning angry. Several of the nearby patrons glanced at her with funny looks, before deciding it wasn’t their business. “I’m trying to hit on you! Can’t you take a hint?”
“Uh, sorry,” replied Ray. “But I’m not really interested.”
“You aren’t?” asked Lyseris with narrow eyes. She settled down and tried to smile again.“You really seem like my kind of guy. Sure you wouldn’t be interested in getting to know me better?”
“I’m actually married, so no thank you. The offer for getting you a plate of this stuff is still open, though!”
Lyseris let out a sigh as she left her seat, slowly shuffling away. “No thanks, that’s fine.”
She was truly miffed now. Getting people, especially men, interested in her was supposed to be a trivial task. She had plenty of success doing so this morning, getting even other married men to go gaga over her right in front of their wives!
It was especially trivial with her mastery over aura magic, and only those with exemplary willpower or similar abilities would be able to resist or cancel it out. Beyond that, her perfectly crafted body should be able to draw anyone towards it, aura and heavy flirting or not.
Neither of those two seemed the type to totally reject her like that, making the bruise to her ego sting all the worse. Still, she hadn’t completely given up hope yet. Her third target, judging by their conversations, would be the easiest. After all, how hard could it be for her to seduce a whoremonger of all people?
Lyseris collected herself with a deep breath, focusing the full force of her aura directly onto her next target. Her Aura of Adoration and Aura of Lust would make even the most stalwart and celibate man kneel before her. Which was concerning, as her prey instead lifted his legs and placed them on top of the small table he was sitting at.
Lyseris swayed her hips as she took a seat opposite of him. “Hey there, cutie. What’s your name?”
“Hambone Buttersworth, but you can call me Ramirez,” he replied.
“Well, Hambone-”
“Please, just call me Ramirez,” he interrupted.
“Well, Ramirez… I just couldn’t help but see you sitting here by your lonesome self, and I just had to stop by and say hello.”
“Well hello to you too,” he replied with a slick smile. So far, so good.
“Well, something about you just seemed really interesting to me, and I was hoping to get to know you better, hopefully in private?” she said with a wink, lightly biting her lip.
“Well then,” replied Ramirez, looking very interested at her proposition. “What exactly do you find so interesting about me?”
“Well, uh…” she began, caught off guard. Anyone else would’ve accepted her proposal then and there, but here this man was not just continuing the flirt, but putting her on the spot.
“Mmh, I feel the exact same way!” exclaimed Ramirez, with a cheery grin. He removed his feet from the table and placed them back onto the ground.
“But I haven’t said anything,” replied Lyseris, confused at his response.
“Exactly. Because you don’t actually find anything interesting about me. If you did, it’d already be out of your mouth. I mean, it’s not that hard, you could’ve mentioned my suave hair, herculean physique, or my great personality.”
“Oh! Those are all great things about you!” she replied. “Especially your hair, what do you use to get it looking so good?”
“Sorry miss, but you’ve lost your chance. I know what it looks like when someone’s actually into me,” said Ramirez, rising from his chair. “Besides, I’m not really in the mood to be fleeced tonight.” He slowly made his way to the bar and sat next to Ray, both laughing about their strange encounters.
Lyseris was frozen in place, her face covered in a look of utter frustration taking the form of a deep scowl. How in the name of the Goddess did she fail to even seduce him? She wanted to scream, but couldn’t without attracting even more negative attention to herself. She didn’t need any more judgemental looks after those three failures.
How had she bombed with these three nobodies when her sisters were able to seduce someone actually important? They made it look easy with how the Great Hero fell for them without any effort at all, they just had to show up and wave their bodies at him before he accepted them unconditionally! Why was she the one, gifted with Skills and spells dedicated to wooing others, who had such trouble doing what was literally her only job!
Well, there was one last member of their group she could try her abilities out on. She walked over to the grizzled man sitting in the dimly lit corner of the inn and began to introduce herself.
“Not interested,” replied Sergeant Mike.
“But I haven’t even said anything yet!” she pouted.
“Don’t need to, I’ve seen you try to hit on three people in a row, quite unsuccessfully if I might add.”
“Well you don’t need to rub it in,” replied Lyseris, her cheeks beginning to puff as she pouted.
“Well, I’m only going to be here for a few more days at most, and I’m not interested in a quick fling or getting into a relationship with someone I’ll only know for that long. So you’d best find a local or something, if you’re looking for some action.”
Lyseris didn’t respond. She turned around and dragged herself to a small, empty table and threw herself onto one of its two chairs. She looked at the empty seat opposite of her and sneered at the reminder of her failure. Despite her best efforts, she had nothing to show, and was alone. She lowered her head to the table and wrapped her arms around it, drowning out the light and noise of the much happier patrons.
After several minutes of wallowing in self pity, she heard the chair next to her scrape against the floor. Someone took a seat in it and pulled themselves in.
“Go away,” whined Lyseris, her voice muffled by her arms and the table.
“Hey, I wanted to apologize for how my friends treated you,” replied a soft, feminine voice. “We’re kind of just passing by, so they’re probably not really looking for something.”
Lyseris stayed still.
“But they definitely could’ve been nicer to you. I’m Annabelle, by the way.”
Still no response.
“I don’t know why they would treat you like that, especially with how pretty you are! I mean, wow! I wish you were flirting with me instead, haha…”
Lyseris finally lifted her head from the table with a confused look.
“Oh, oh shit! Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that!” meekly whispered Annabelle to herself, covering her mouth with her hands. The biggest lesson she’d learned from Sergeant Mike so far was that the multiverse was incredibly diverse. While the other members of TOAL had been accepting of her orientation, she knew that wouldn’t always be the case, and this World could be like back home in rural Tennessee in that regard.
The lady opposite her gave Annabelle a long, solid look. Annabelle reacted by covering the rest of her face and blushing. When she finally gained the courage to peek behind cover, she saw Lyseris’ face slowly turn into a smile.
“Hey, you’re pretty too. I’m Lyseris, by the way.”
“Annabelle,” she replied, holding out a hesitant hand to shake. She smiled softly too when the gesture was reciprocated.
“So, Annabelle, you said that you and your friends are just passing by. What for, if I may?”
“Uh, well we’re travellers, and we’re stopping by town for a bit. Sorry, I can’t really go into specifics. How about you?”
Lyseris nodded. She overheard enough to know that they were interested in the hero, but there could’ve been two reasons why. Maybe they were shy about their interest, seeing as how most will joke about you spending too much time at church if you tried talking about his quest in normal conversation. Or, it could be that she was related to the group her sisters fought with earlier that day. Now that she thought about it, the so-called “fan club incident” they were talking about earlier could’ve been a reference to the very same encounter.
Lyseris lifted one of her hands and used it as a resting place for her head. “Well Annabelle, I happen to be a travelling priestess. Eastgate just so happens to be my latest stop too. I’m mainly here to conduct business on behalf of the will of the Goddess.”
Annabelle smiled at the response. She’d heard that the goddess of this World was most likely evil, but she knew screaming “Your religion is Evil!” at a potential date, especially someone religious enough to become a priestess, was a great way of chasing them off. She’d seen enough newly minted atheists back home chase away more than just potential girlfriends and boyfriends, usually family as well sadly.
“Hey Lyseris, stupid question, but why aren’t you wearing your priestess robes? I’ve seen plenty of priests and priestesses wear them while going about their daily business here.” Annabelle’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she asked the question.
“They’re pretty comfortable, but you try walking on dirt roads without getting them dirty!” chuckled Lyseris.
“But a dress is perfectly fine?”
The two remained silent for a long moment, staring at each other with suspicious and stupefied looks. Annabelle was the first to crack, letting out a snicker through pursed lips.
“Ha! You got me there!” laughed Lyseris. “But can you blame a girl? Sometimes I want to live my life beyond performing rites, and nobody’ll take me as anything but a priestess if I always dress in those robes!”
Annabelle nodded to herself. She had to admit, there’s no way she would’ve approached Lyseris if she were dressed in priestess robes. So she was thankful for that, and the fact that they didn’t seem to take vows of celibacy in this World.
“So,” began Annabelle, “What’s your job like? As a priestess, I mean. I haven’t had the chance to talk to many, especially not a travelling one.”
“Well, I mostly go from place to place preaching about the love the Goddess shows to all her worshipers. My only complaint is that the people I preach to aren’t usually that interested in love, just what the Goddess can do for them. I mean, she already helps everyone out so much with the level System, but so many people are always so ungrateful!” Lyseris took a deep breath. “Oh, I didn’t mean to turn that into a rant, sorry!”
“No, it’s alright,” replied Annabelle, holding up her hands in a pacifying gesture. “I agree with you. Religion is supposed to be about that divine love, and loving God…ess back. But as you said, a lot of people don’t focus on that, at least where I’m from. They’re more interested in interpreting the Holy Word to justify their own world views instead of using them as a guide on how to live.” She looked down and sighed, reminded of why she was so happy to have been taken away from there in the first place.
Lyseris looked back at her in surprise. “Really? The Goddess usually tells her priests and priestesses exactly what she desires out of them and her worshippers, so interpretation isn’t ever really a problem. Especially because she’s happy to answer questions.”
Annabelle hesitated for a moment, using the blond hair falling from her head to cover the look on her face. After collecting her thoughts, she looked back up at Lyseris while brushing her hair out of the way. “I lived in a pretty rural place growing up, and there weren’t any priests who were that qualified there.”
Lyseris looked at her intently, before raising a hand and placing it on her shoulder. “If that’s the case, then you must be happy that you get to meet some real priests now. On top of that, you get to meet better people too! And I’d say I qualify as both!”
Annabelle giggled warmly and nodded. “Yeah, I definitely am.”
The night dragged on and the two continued their chat, exploring each others’ histories, interests, and careers as much as they were willing to divulge. Despite the secrecy from both sides, there was plenty to talk about, and they went on until everyone else in the inn had left for bed.
“Bedtime, you two!” shouted the innkeeper, as she went around extinguishing the lights around the room.
“Is it already so late?!” exclaimed Annabelle. “How were we talking for so long?”
“That’s just what happens when two people are into each other,” replied Lyseris with a smile. “So, off to bed then? Have space in your room for two?” she asked with a wink.
“Oh, uh…” Annabelle’s face turned beet red as she considered the offer. “I mean, we just met and…”
“Not in my inn! One room, one person!” shouted the innkeeper, giving the two her best glare.
“Well, I guess there’s the answer,” lamented Lyseris. “But there’s always tomorrow.”
“Uh, yeah!” squeaked Annabelle. “Let’s meet back up here tomorrow morning, then. Does eight o’ clock sound good?”
“Yeah, that works for me,” replied Lyseris, getting out of her seat. “It’s a date then!” she said, delivering a quick peck onto Annabelle’s cheek before sauntering out the door into the cold night.
“Yeah, a date!” repeated Annabelle, now just out of earshot. “I can’t wait to tell the others, after literal years I finally have a date!”
As Lyseris exited the inn and made her way to where she was staying, she smiled to herself. It was soft and innocent and bubbly. Until it began to morph, turning beguiling, hungry, sadistic. She was sure of it now. That group was related to the ones who her sisters fought against that morning, and she finally had a way in. That was the second group that dared interrupt her sisters and the Goddess’ plan, and she swore it would be the last. She lamented that it had to be through a girl who would’ve been a wonderful priestess if she were only born here instead of… wherever, but that point was moot. She’d given enough away to expose herself as an outsider, especially at the subtle reference to a divine entity that wasn’t the Goddess. This group stood against the Goddess and thus forfeited their lives. And soon, once she could make them vulnerable through Annabelle, she would come to collect on Her behalf.