Valle

“Well,” Father said once we were alone, “you have been busy since you left.”

“Yes,” I replied. “I have.”

We looked at each other for just a moment before we rushed into a hug. It was strange. When you are younger, you feel like your father’s grip in an embrace is so much stronger than any strength you will ever be able to muster. Then, as you grow older, you start to feel that you are stronger than them. And now that I am older still, I realize just how damn strong you are. Holding up the city while I’m gone. Putting up with my insanity. Never complaining, never cracking. You are amazing, you know that? “I missed you, Father,” I muttered. “I’m sorry for leaving Cresna to go after Carr. I am sorry for rebelling against Johan. I am sorry for putting Cresna in danger. I am sorry for leaving such a mess for you to clean up.” No. That wasn’t quite what I wanted to tell him. “Thank you, Father.”

He tapped the back of my head with a quiet chuckle, and despite our nearly identical heights for a moment it felt as though I were a kid again. Father pulled back from the embrace to look me in the eye and said, “Don’t apologize and don’t thank me. That’s just what a father’s job is.” He smiled and tapped my shoulder twice before adding, “Maybe something for you to consider, if you are engaged now.”

“I flatly refuse to consider that very valid point,” I told him solemnly, causing him to chuckle louder as I sat down and reached for my teacup. “That is a dream for more peaceful times.”

Father sat down across from me and reached for his own tea. He smiled, and this pleased me—I had prepared the tea myself. “Your engagement with Princess Nevada was quite the surprise. Left many young ladies in Cresna heartbroken, you know?”

“That does sadden me, yes.”

He leaned forward with sudden, paternal seriousness. “Is it merely political or do you have feelings for each other?”

It’s a funny thing, talking to your parents. There are things you cannot put in words even to yourself, and yet when they pose you the question with utmost respect and concern you feel your body will itself into providing an answer, surprising even yourself. “We legitimately like each other,” I said. “And I think we are both surprised about that. At first, it was just political—but we happen to match really well and I believe that if we had met at peacetime we still would have ended up together.” I sighed and sipped at my tea. “But it is political first and foremost, and that’s the devil of it. She wants the throne, I want Cresna’s safety. The two sort of align, but they also don’t in some ways—so we have some conflict there. It’s not easy.”

“No relationship is easy,” he told me earnestly. When I looked up at him, I found a gentle smile. “It is going to be alright, son.”

There was no way to know that and the current situation hardly inspired confidence. Yet, a father’s reassurance when your certainty is down is invaluable. His baseless words did not lift the weight on my shoulders, but they seemed to make it more bearable. I have been gone from home for too long. “How’s the situation, Father?”

“Cresna supports you more than they ever supported me,” he laughed. “Our economy hasn’t been damaged too badly either. Trade has completely stopped with Arcadia, but not every province has stopped trading with us—even the ones that support Johan’s claim to the throne. From Cresna’s viewpoint, our life hasn’t changed beyond the fact that they only have to pay taxes to Cresna as opposed to Cresna and the Empire, so it’s all positive.”

“Not to mention no one much liked the Empire to begin with,” I muttered. “What about Inglês nationalists? Any number of them claiming that Terra Inglesa should return to Inglaterra instead of becoming an independent country?”

“Some, but even they are being relatively quiet about this. They figure that an independent Terra Inglesa is more likely to join back up with Inglaterra than anything else. Besides,” Father added with a sly smirk, “don’t forget that even those nationalists love you. They have nostalgic links to a land they have never been to, yes, but they are also Cresnian through and through. And they know how much you have done for our land.”

“And Inglaterra itself?”

“King John sent a messenger this morning.” Father produced a rolled up parchment from inside his coat pocket and tossed it onto the table. “I would have drafted a reply for you, but once our scouts heard of Harlock making its way here…I figured it was best to wait just a day and let you decide how to answer.”

“Why did you think that was best? I’m sure you could have thought of what I would say.”

Here Father leaned forward, with a certain stern pride to his smirk and voice as he said, “Because, Valle, you are the King in Cresna. Don’t forget that. You are no longer just a Champion, but the King of the Five Cities.”

That does not feel real yet. Champion was always a title that felt natural to me. When I earned my Champion’s cloak, it felt as though I was being returned something that had always belonged to me. Ever since I claimed the throne, it still doesn’t feel like I am a king. But I must be one.

“King of three,” I corrected him. “Valder made sure that Portna is on our side—and Dimburgo is with us. Doblen is indecisive and Cardente is opposing our claim, as I understand it.”

“Doblen will join soon enough.”

“What of Cardente?”

Father hesitated. “They will not join us so easily, I fear.”

“That is what I figured,” I muttered. “At first, I thought to see to that matter personally, but my presence is requested in Razil. That will be most troublesome.”

Here Father’s curiosity peaked. “Valle, my son, did you have a plan in mind?”

“Yes,” I replied frankly. “Challenge their Champion to a duel and work my way from there.”

Father raised an eyebrow. Valente of Cresna sure knew how to express his disapproval without saying it. Bloody, insufferable man…I love him. “That is unlikely to work even if you went there—and absolutely impossible if you just send a proxy.”

“Yes, I am aware. So right now, our goal will be to focus on the four cities—Doblen first, while I head to Razil.”

“Who will be in charge of the military while you are gone?” Father’s tone was surprisingly casual about the matter. “Johan has not had the time to mobilize any armies, but I cannot guarantee that will be the case while you sail to Razil and back.”

“Father, surely you can—”

“I cannot,” he replied, with a staggering amount of frankness. “Had you not taken over our armies last war, Cresna would have fallen. I am not militarily competent enough to lead one army, let alone an alliance of three or four cities.”

Nevada and I talked about this…wait, is this wise? What if she is manipulating me? Better to say it aloud. “Nevada and I spoke of this. Valder is extremely competent at leading troops if you can remember his first rebellion.”

“And you think he can be trusted?”

“He hates Johan more than I do.”

“Valle, my son, I trust that Valder will not side with Johan. But can you trust that when given control of our armies he will not turn on us? To make Portna the capital of the Terra Inglesa Independente?”

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“Not as long as I am engaged with Nevada.”

“What if Nevada wishes to make Portna into the capital as well? She would have more control over her brother than her would-be husband.”

She would never do that, I thought, then chastised myself for it. We liked each other, but politics were politics. Nevada is always saying I’m not being strategic enough with my moves. Fine. I will act like a king for once. “We will send Valder out of Cresna before we leave,” I muttered. It was as good a plan as I could come up with. “To take Cardente.”

Father nearly fell out of his seat. “But son, that is—!”

“It will not endear them to our cause, that is for certain,” I said. “But if we allow Johan to control Cardente, their armies will be able to make through the otherwise extremely defendable narrow pass and have free access to the rest of the Terra Inglesa. They already have one route leading to Cresna, we cannot allow them to have free access there.”

“So you mean…to just send the Sun Wolf to take the city for us before Johan’s troops can arrive there? He would have to storm the goddamn city, they could hold out a siege until the Empire’s army—”

“Sieges are hardly an option with monsters roaming about,” I said. I need to ask more about monsters. What…what is going on with them? But it was not yet the time. “Valder might be able to do something—and if not, well, it will keep him busy until we are back in Cresna with Razil’s support.”

“And what is keeping him from simply turning around and using his troops to attack Cresna?”

“We will send him with an army composed mostly of Cresnian men. They would not follow those orders.”

Father hesitated. It was a workable plan, but hardly a flawless one. “So long as the Sun Wolf and Nevada aren’t conspiring to betray us, this is all academic anyhow. And Nevada will not want to betray me after our public displays—it would cost her some public support.”

“Aye, so long as you two remain allied, nothing will come of it, and keeping Valder out of Cresna for a bit will dull any fears anyhow. That means, you must not do anything to endanger your engagement,” he said sternly.

“Father, I would never—”

“You are going to Razil,” he said, with a raised eyebrow. “And you haven’t seen Estella in a long time.”

It took effort to keep rudeness out of my reply. “That was a long time ago,” I grunted. “We were kids.”

“You were kids together for a long time.”

“We weren’t together for a long time.” I shook my head. “We were never together.” Not quite. “It won’t be an issue.”

Father held a glance for a moment, then sighed. “Get Razil on our side, then get married to Nevada on your return—I will arrange your official crowning then, Your Majesty.”

“Please don’t call me that, King Father,” I replied mockingly. “And that is the plan.”

“Speaking of plans—who will head to Razil?”

“Carr and myself,” I replied promptly. Then, after a second thought, “Celle needs to stay aboard the ship to investigate the crime scene…proving that Johan assassinated the previous Emperor would be a fantastic win for us, so she is coming too. Nevada…” I hesitated. “She…should come as well.”

“Why the hesitation?” Father asked, a smirk on his face. “Do you not want her to meet Estella?”

“No!” I cried out. “Not even a little!”

“She must.”

“I know,” I muttered. “Heavens, I know.”

“And of the rest?”

“Max is recovering from his injuries—he and Gilder will stay in Cresna. Isabella and Fedal will stay as well...I would like to give Fedal an honorary title. People in the Terra Inglesa saw him defeat Max, they must hold a high opinion of him. Using him for morale while we are gone is a good idea.” And if Valder does attack, then Fedal can hold him off. His stats are still high enough. “Are we in agreement?”

“Yes, my son—Your Majesty.”

“Father, please stop.”

“No.”

Celle

“This book can predict the future and show me exactly what some people are doing,” I said, for the tenth time. “I can’t quite work out how it works, but it let me keep track of your journey in the void a little bit ago, remember?”

Carr nodded slowly. We had gone over this a few times and he still didn’t quite understand it, but that was to be expected—I don’t think I would have understood it if I hadn’t seen it myself. Well, I would have understood it in only two or three repetitions, but I couldn’t blame Carr for needing ten or eleven times. Mostly. “Do you get it now?”

“I think so,” Carr muttered slowly. “But how does it work? And why does Reven have it?”

“As far as I can tell, it exists beyond Francisco’s Rules, so it’s something closer to the Void itself, the Referee and what lies beyond this world. Things we might never really understand.” I didn’t believe that, of course. There was not a single damn thing in this world that I couldn’t understand if I tried. “As for how Reven got it…guy was the richest man in the world. No wonder he has a few exotic items. If this existed anywhere, it makes sense that he got it in the end.”

“Suppose so.” Carr didn’t sound convinced. “It does sound useful though. It might help you solve the murder in the end.”

“And it makes mention of a magical sword—‘Ghost’s High Noon’ they call it. Here, let me show you exactly what it says.” I withdrew the book and gestured at one of the earlier passages. “‘Thus, for the sake of clarity: the truth behind the Emperor’s murder fuels the legendary sword, Ghost’s High Noon. This, in itself, might hint at why the truth behind the murder is hidden even many years later.’ Do you understand what that implies, Carr?”*

“Frankly, no. That there is a magical sword? Only thing I could gather from it, to be honest.”

Well, that was fair enough. “It is a named legendary sword, like Godslayer. It seems fair to assume it has a special ability. The hint that the truth of the murder fuels the legendary sword…” I hesitated. This was venturing into guesswork, but it made sense in that context. Still, it pained me to say what amounted to a guess over actual deductive work. “My guess is that the sword gets stronger depending on ‘truths’ you uncover or something of the sort. Who the hell knows how the specifics work, but that would fit in with that.”

Carr rubbed the back of his head and made a vague sound to indicate he was listening, but having trouble coming up with something to say. I gave him the time he needed to wrap his mind around this, and once he did, his wit appeared to return to him, after a fashion. “Do you think that Ghost’s High Noon could help us against Johan?”

“Assuming Legendary Swords still work, yes. I solve the mystery and then kill Johan myself.”

“Wow, stealing my thunder?” Carr asked, grinning. “That would be nice.”

Carr was still a little dazed. He and Isabella had woken up from their trip to the void about a day ago, but it was as if they were both heavily hungover. He was taking a little too long to reply to normal questions, and his reflexes weren’t there today. Something to consider in the future…if they keep using the Void, they are going to be useless the day after.

“Do you know the mechanics of how you can use it to read things that are still happening though?” Carr asked. “And what happens when it runs out of pages?”

“That’s a good question. It was blank when I got it, so I imagine the pages go blank after a while—or after someone new becomes its ‘owner.’ I don’t really understand the mechanics yet. But so far I have only been able to use it to spy on you.”

“Wonder what makes me special,” Carr muttered. “Is it because I’m not from this world?”

I shook my head. “Don’t think so.”

“Can you elaborate?”

“I don’t want to be an asshole to you—”

“—That’s new—”

“—Carr, shut the fuck up and listen. Are you okay enough to understand what I’m going to say? I’m not trying to mock you, it’s just that you have been a little out of it since you came back from the void.”

He opened his mouth to give a careless reply, but then surprisingly appeared to consider the point. Carr studied his own hand for a bit, lost in thought, then shook his head and looked up at me. “I think so, just don’t hold it against me if I don’t get it. This feels so fucking weird, it’s like being hungover but not. Kind of feels like when I first got out of the void. It’s like my senses are being overwhelmed by everything, if that makes sense.”

“Yeah…I’m sorry you had to go through that again.” I paused. “You told me how it felt before, but actually reading your thoughts about it was…different. That seemed really difficult for you. I’m sorry it happened.”

“It’s fine.” Carr looked down and I regretted bringing up the topic. *Shit. He’s remembering it again now. What should I—*Suddenly he looked up in a panic. “Wait, if you could read all my thoughts that time, I—do you—uh—”

Here Carr was showing the universal expression of someone afraid they had upset their partner. It was sort of rare, usually he acted like he didn’t care if I was mad—things were changing. Guess we are sort of official now. To a degree. Bastard still hasn’t asked me out. But we had done enough things under a blanket and whispered enough sweet words for it to be more than friendship. “What are you—Carr, do you think I’d be upset about Isabella?”

“Think? No. Fear? Yes.”

It was impossible not to laugh at that absurdity, and watching his sudden pout coupled with a blush just made me want to tease him more. Oh my god, that’s fucking adorable. He’s literally pouting. Still, it probably would have been too mean and make him more scared of saying things like that out loud. Wow, Void hungover Carr is adorable. I know it’s traumatizing and all but, goddamn. “I would never get upset at that. Honestly, I think it’s really nice that you two are becoming closer friends. Seems like both of you could use more people to talk to.”

“You know that goes to you too, right? You’re less social than I am.” Ouch. But true. “Maybe you should talk to her a bit before we leave for that place Valle mentioned.”

“Maybe I should,” I admitted. “I am concerned about her. Losing her grandfather and everything she knew can’t be easy.”

There was a knock on the door. I looked hesitantly at Carr, hoping he would stand up and go open it himself—but he looked back at me with a smirk that told me he had no intention of moving. Okay, you are fucked up from the void still. Fair enough. Ugh, I really didn’t want to have to stand up. But I slipped on a bathrobe and opened the door. “Yes?”

“Celle,” Nevada began, “I need to talk to you.”