SCENE: CONSTANCE manor in Malatok. RAPHTALIA, FILO, CONSTANCE and NAOFUMI are sitting around a table, discussing the revelations about the curse.
CONSTANCE: You should have told me you were going to visit the Pope first. He is a dangerous man.
NAOFUMI shrugs.
NAOFUMI: Sorry about that, I suppose. We figured a quick check to see if they could remove the curse would be good.
CONSTANCE sighs.
CONSTANCE: No, it is really my fault. I should have taken the time to drill you on the key players in Melromarc, but figured it wouldn’t come up so soon.
CONSTANCE rubs her eyes.
CONSTANCE: Don’t be fooled by the Pope’s friendly appearance. I have spoken to him directly only twice in my life: once when he was touring the provinces, and once in the capital. The second time, he remembered my name and title, and he spoke confidently about my problems. There are around two thousand counts in Melromarc, but I think he keeps track of all of them - or at least all the ambitious ones. This is on top of his grip on the church itself. He is one of the most capable political operators in the entire country, and should be approached with extreme caution - especially in your position. But, what is done is done.
NAOFUMI nods, frowning.
NAOFUMI: I see.
NAOFUMI looks around the table.
NAOFUMI: Still, what do you think about it? You could remove the curse pretty easily.
RAPHTALIA scowls.
RAPHTALIA: Absolutely not.
NAOFUMI: Why not?
RAPHTALIA folds her hands.
RAPHTALIA: Because I’d rather die than spew out church bullshit for a single second of my life.
NAOFUMI frowns.
NAOFUMI: It’s just words - he said that you could rejoin the party later. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it works.
RAPHTALIA: Naofumi, if you put me in a room with that prick then I am the only one who will walk out.
CONSTANCE frowns.
CONSTANCE: You really should consider it.
RAPHTALIA crosses glances with CONSTANCE.
RAPHTALIA: You first.
CONSTANCE shakes her head.
CONSTANCE: I can’t.
RAPHTALIA: Why not? You have experience with swallowing their bullshit, don’t you?
CONSTANCE: Because Naofumi told the Pope his party members had the curse. If I, countess Constance von Marukievich, show up immediately afterwards being cursed, he would know that I am linked to you, and from that point on I couldn’t help you behind the scenes.
RAPHTALIA: Like how?
CONSTANCE crosses her arms.
CONSTANCE: While you were talking to Itsuki, I was running around Malatok talking to nobility, pulling strings and calling favors. You are currently looking at the head of the investigation into this monster incident.
NAOFUMI leans back. RAPHTALIA looks away, ceding the argument.
NAOFUMI: You got yourself appointed to investigate your own crimes?
CONSTANCE smiles slightly.
CONSTANCE: It’s not the first time I do this. Just in time, too - apparently someone low in the merchants guild mentioned to the guard that they remembered someone asking about Reibia just a week before this happened.
NAOFUMI cringes.
NAOFUMI: Yeah, I figured that might have happened. Wasn’t much we could do about that, either.
CONSTANCE: I got the report dismissed as ungrounded rumors. It’s not unusual for hundreds of people to come out of the woodwork when a reward is announced for information that could help the investigation. They come around hoping that whatever random thing they remember might by chance be true, and get them a slice of the pie. As time goes on, this one thing will get buried in a pile of other reports, and forgotten.
NAOFUMI: Wouldn’t this mean you have to stay in Malatok?
CONSTANCE smugly takes a sip of her drink.
CONSTANCE: On the contrary, I am touring the country and chasing down leads. Any duration of absence now has a perfect excuse.
NAOFUMI shakes his head, impressed. He turns to FILO.
NAOFUMI: How about you? You’d be stronger without the curse.
FILO scratches her head, then shakes it.
FILO: Nah, I don’t think so.
NAOFUMI throws his hands up.
NAOFUMI: Why?
FILO shrugs.
FILO: It was getting kinda hard to figure out where I was fucking up when I was so much stronger than what we were fighting. Now it’s much easier. I’ll stay like this for a while I think. It's good training.
NAOFUMI groans.
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SCENE: Tavern in Melromarc. REN, NAOFUMI, RAPHTALIA and FILO are sitting at a table. REN is reading the letter from ITSUKI. He finishes it with a worried look on his face.
REN: Thanks for delivering this to me. I didn’t think you and Itsuki were working together.
NAOFUMI waves him off.
NAOFUMI: We just crossed paths.
REN: Nonetheless. After your scene with the chair I started to think you were going to be completely impossible to deal with.
RAPHTALIA: Naofumi? Come on, he is as kind as a puppy.
REN glances at RAPHTALIA and mutters something indistinctive.
NAOFUMI: There were two other things we wanted to talk to you about. First of all, have you heard of something called a Curse Shield?
REN frowns.
REN: No, not really. What is it?
NAOFUMI: It’s this weapon I unlocked. It boosts attack speed of the party members by a lot, keeps them from dying, but has some drawbacks that make it bad to use in combat. Mental effects, things like that. It also puts a curse debuff on you.
REN taps his cheek for a while.
REN: There wasn’t anything called “curse shield” that I could remember, but early on in development they had an idea of “sin weapons”. There would be one for each deadly sin - that catholic thing, you know - and I think the wrath series was supposed to increase attack speed. The whole thing was scrapped before release though, and there was little data about it. That’s about it.
NAOFUMI nods.
NAOFUMI: Thanks. It’s not much, but it’s something, I guess.
REN: I’ll have to make notes on other things that got scrapped, if you say that something like that might come up. There could be something more there.
NAOFUMI: The other thing was about classes. I only just now learned they are a thing, and we aren’t sure which ones to pick. Itsuki said you’d know.
REN smiles slightly.
REN: Yeah, you could say I know a thing or two about that. Let me get my notes, we’ll figure out a full build for your party. It'd be good to compare notes on your weapon while we are at it.
REN goes upstairs, and returns with a stack of notebooks. NAOFUMI shares his own notes on the system. Time passes as NAOFUMI, FILO and REN argue over the upsides and downsides of various class choices. RAPHTALIA tries to keep up at first, but finally gives up and goes to chat with the other patrons, and then goes on a walk. By the time they are done, several hours have passed. RAPHTALIA returns.
RAPHTALIA: How long could you possibly find these numbers interesting?
REN: They are very important numbers!
RAPHTALIA: I am sure. What class do I get?
NAOFUMI: Mirrorshade Assassin. Filo picked Sevenhand Curse Brawler for herself.
REN: Shouldn’t you be more interested in your own class? It’s very hard to change them - this could be with you for life.
RAPHTALIA: And? It’s just going to make me better at killing people, one way or another, right? It’s not like I am about to grow a second head. Naofumi knows me and I trust him, so he can pick for me.
REN crosses his arms. NAOFUMI raises his shield, and it twinkles twice. RAPHTALIA blinks, looking around.
NAOFUMI: There, it’s done.
RAPHTALIA: Hm. I think I can feel where other people are looking. That’s neat, I guess.
NAOFUMI: Classes mostly do what it says in the name. In your case, illusion magic and sneaking things.
As they are discussing the details, a SHADOWY PERSON, wearing a face-concealing cloak, comes to their table.
SHADOWY PERSON: May I have your attention, honorable Heroes?
Everyone turns towards SHADOWY PERSON.
SHADOWY PERSON: My liege requests a meeting with you, at your earliest convenience, I daresay.
SHADOWY PERSON hands them a piece of parchment with written directions.
REN: With both of us?
SHADOWY PERSON: Indeed, Sir Hero.
REN glances at NAOFUMI.
NAOFUMI: What?
REN: It’s just…I don’t think that you going would be a good idea, after the stunt you pulled at the castle last time.
NAOFUMI chuckles.
SHADOWY PERSON: My liege requested Sir Shield specifically to come, I daresay. They can be a powerful ally - is there a reason not to come?
RAPHTALIA: Wait. You are the one we met at the castle.
SHADOWY PERSON: It is true, I daresay.
RAPHTALIA turns to NAOFUMI.
RAPHTALIA: I think we should go.
NAOFUMI shrugs.
NAOFUMI: Who am I to deny a noble what they are asking for? Let’s meet at the southern city gates in an hour - I still need to fetch our last party member.
REN frowns.
REN: Fine. I hope I will not regret this, Naofumi.
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SCENE: REN exits the Melromarc gates, riding a filofial. SHADOWY PERSON follows after him on one of their own. NAOFUMI, RAPHTALIA and CONSTANCE follow on top of FILO. REN drives his filofial closer.
REN: You sure your filofial will get us there before sundown while carrying all three of you? It’s quite some distance.
FILO clacks her beak.
FILO: Are you challenging me to a race, sword-boy?
REN blinks in surprise.
REN: …Filo?
NAOFUMI sniggers.
NAOFUMI: She’ll be fine, make sure you can keep up.
NAOFUMI turns to the SHADOWY PERSON.
NAOFUMI: What do we call you? You never even gave us your name.
FULANA JEN: You may call me Fulana Jen, Sir Hero.
CONSTANCE snorts. FULANA glances at her, her face hidden by her cloak.
CONSTANCE: Being cheeky, are we?
CONSTANCE leans over to NAOFUMI.
CONSTANCE: That’s the name you use when you do not know someone’s name. A common placeholder on death reports, for example.
REN frowns at the subterfuge. NAOFUMI shakes his head and turns back to REN.
NAOFUMI: Is your party coming?
REN: No, they are in the mountains to the north. XP share doesn’t have a distance limit - they farm monsters, I gain levels while doing politics. It’s a perfect system.
NAOFUMI nods.
NAOFUMI: Unless you need to use party teleport, since everyone needs to be close by for it to work.
REN: Exactly. Let’s go, we are losing daylight.
----------------------------------------
SCENE: REN, FULANA JEN, NAOFUMI, FILO, RAPHTALIA and CONSTANCE ride into a village near Melromarc. The sun has almost set behind the horizon. CONSTANCE looks around and nods.
CONSTANCE: Yep, this is the place. Head to the center, there should be a tavern there.
REN frowns, halting his filofial.
REN: How do you know? We didn’t even ask anyone the name of this village.
CONSTANCE: Look there and there - see those two people on the house roofs? They look like they are trying to patch the roofs over, but the sun is almost down - nobody will keep working when it’s this dark out. Or take that grandma over there sitting on the steps of her house - it’s warm out, but she is cuddled up like it’s winter. What is she doing there alone?
CONSTANCE is pointing from place to place as she is explaining things.
CONSTANCE: In actuality, these are someone’s guards that are trying to blend in. They aren’t perfect at this, but even this level of skill comes at a good price. Now keep in mind that this is only one of the ways into the village - if they have three guards here, then there are at least as many everywhere else. Only a very rich person could afford to pay for all of them. This is the place, I am sure of it.
FULANA JEN is looking at CONSTANCE. REN squints to see the guards, and finally shakes his head. RAPHTALIA taps her cheek in thought.
RAPHTALIA: Should we be telling them we can see them? Didn’t you teach me about the difference between being concealed, falsely thinking you are concealed, and knowing you aren’t concealed?
CONSTANCE looks back at FULANA JEN and smirks under her mask.
CONSTANCE: Well, we aren’t here to fight are we? But I find that the dialogue goes much more amicably when one of the sides doesn’t think that they hold all the cards.
They head to the center of the village. Soon they come across a tavern with a carriage parked in front of it. Several fully armed GUARDS are sitting around the tavern entrance. CONSTANCE leans towards NAOFUMI and whispers.
CONSTANCE: I would guess that we are dealing with at least a duke, but I don’t recognise the heraldry on the carriage. This means one of three things: they are either foreign, traveling under an assumed name, or using a proxy to speak for them. I would bet against the former - I’ll signal you if I recognise them.
NAOFUMI nods. They come to a stop next to the carriage and dismount. FULANA JEN approaches the GUARDS and signals something with a series of hand gestures, before turning back to the party.
FULANA JEN: The Baroness will be down in a moment. Mack here will get you something to eat and drink.
One of the GUARDS leads the party into the empty tavern and seats them at one of the tables. FULANA JEN heads to the second story of the tavern. REN asks the GUARD for a beer. NAOFUMI takes out a traveling flask and drinks from it, then passes it to RAPHTALIA.
REN: Will you not even have a beer?
NAOFUMI snorts.
NAOFUMI: After Raphtalia got poisoned last time? No way. Really, we should have brought our own chairs, just in case they had a poison needle planted on one of them.
REN sighs.
REN: Could you please refrain from antagonizing them?
NAOFUMI: Me? I am a picture of saintly virtue, Ren.
REN: I mean it, Naofumi. I still have to listen to questions about your stunt with the chair.
NAOFUMI: Don’t you worry, if I step too far out of turn, Fredalia will take over for me.
NAOFUMI nods to CONSTANCE.
NAOFUMI: She is better at this than I am in any case.
FULANA JEN returns, followed by a young BARONESS. She has long, blue hair, tied into a pair of ponytails, and is wearing a matching dark blue richly decorated dress. NAOFUMI glances at CONSTANCE, but she shakes her head, not recognising the woman. BARONESS comes to their table, and addresses REN and NAOFUMI.
BARONESS: Greetings, honorable Heroes. I am Baroness Veraya von Belevitz. I appreciate you coming to hear my request.
REN: What could we do for you, your Ladyship?
NAOFUMI simply nods.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
BARONESS: Before I explain my position, allow me to ask you a couple questions. Sir Naofumi, I believe that you have had some problems with Myne and Aultcray - the current rulers in absentia of Melromarc?
NAOFUMI scratches his chin.
NAOFUMI: That’s putting it mildly.
BARONESS turns towards REN.
BARONESS: And you too, sir Ren?
REN: Yes.
NAOFUMI turns to REN.
NAOFUMI: Really? What did she do to you?
REN crosses his arms.
REN: She didn’t do anything to me. She is, however, at the head of a coalition of courtiers that has been styming my efforts at getting any serious funding for opposing the Waves. It’s ridiculous that we are paid a small stipend per Wave, after the Wave concludes - way more resources have to be put towards this crisis. We shouldn’t be going in with parties, we should be bringing small armies along - the teleportation system certainly allows this to happen. I am making progress, but it’s excruciatingly slow.
BARONESS smiles and leans forwards.
BARONESS: Me and my friends are opposed to Myne, and we think that the Waves crisis must be stopped by any means necessary. I believe that an alliance would be a natural conclusion, don’t you think? How about you, Sir Ren?
REN smiles and leans forwards.
REN: Of course. If your coalition could help us oppose the Waves, then I would always support it.
BARONESS nods and turns to NAOFUMI.
BARONESS: And you, Sir Naofumi?
NAOFUMI is scratching his head as if in deep thought.
NAOFUMI: Uh huh, I see, an alliance. What’s your opinion on slavery?
REN shoots NAOFUMI a warning glare. BARONESSES eyebrows fly up in surprise.
BARONESS: Slavery?
NAOFUMI: Yes, that infernal institution.
BARONESS frowns.
BARONESS: I am afraid I don't know that much about it, so I can’t say that I have any real opinion. Is this related to our coalition?
NAOFUMI shugs performatively.
NAOFUMI: It just seems like a pretty important issue, is all. Would your coalition support the abolition of slavery? Would they oppose it? We gotta know these things, if we are to support you.
BARONESS seems unsettled by the question.
BARONESS: Abolition?
NAOFUMI: Yeah, freeing all the slaves. You know, back in our world, slavery has been outlawed so long ago that most people would not believe it exists anymore. Isn’t that right Ren?
NAOFUMI looks at REN. REN squints at him, then turns to the BARONESS.
REN: It is true, your Ladyship. It has been a shock to see that this world still practices it at such a large scale.
BARONESS: So there are no slaves in your world at all?
NAOFUMI: Oh there are slaves all right - those in forced marriages, debt peonage, forced labor and so on - but much fewer of them, in relative numbers. The institution of intergenerational chattel slavery, however, has been more or less wiped out.
BARONESS scratches her forehead as she considers the idea.
BARONESS: And you… what, want that to happen here? Is this your precondition for an alliance?
NAOFUMI shrugs.
NAOFUMI: It seems important to clear this up first.
BARONESS: But this sounds like a massive undertaking that would take decades.
CONSTANCE glances at NAOFUMI and leans forwards in her chair.
CONSTANCE: In principle, a royal decree could legally abolish it overnight. Of course, no such thing has ever been put forth as a proposal, and every Duke would object.
BARONESS gestures as she talks.
BARONESS: But wait, wouldn’t that cause chaos? Slaves work the fields all across the country - if you freed them overnight, the economy would collapse. If this is -
RAPHTALIA’s lips scowl, before she schools her expression. NAOFUMI opens his mouth to argue, but REN grabs him by the sleeve and drags him towards the doors.
REN: Your Ladyship, I apologize profusely, but I must discuss something with Sir Naofumi right away. We will be right back.
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SCENE: Outside of the tavern. REN drags NAOFUMI far away from the entrance. RAPHTALIA follows after them. REN turns to NAOFUMI and stares at him for a while, his lips pursed.
REN: Tell me honestly - do you enjoy this? Do you just have a self-destructive personality?
NAOFUMI: What?
RAPHTALIA comes closer, joining their circle.
REN: I asked you - politely - to not antagonize the Baroness, and the first thing you do when you meet her is to throw my request in my face. Do you know how hard I’ve worked to get their bloody government moving? Now there is a slim possibility of us gaining an actual ally - or even a group of them! A chance of getting something done about the Waves, and maybe - eventually - about their whole nation. And you come along and do your best to fuck it up.
NAOFUMI opens his mouth to respond, but RAPHTALIA interrupts him.
RAPHTALIA: An ally? Whose ally?
REN: What are you talking about? Our ally, that’s what she said -
RAPHTALIA scowls. NAOFUMI folds his hands on his chest.
RAPHTALIA: But not my ally, right? Not my family’s ally, or Filo’s ally - them she’d just as well leave in chains, because otherwise the precious economy would suffer.
REN steps back, but quickly gathers himself together.
REN: You cannot possibly purity-test your allies in the middle of a crisis of this size. If you do, we will not get anything done, and then we will all die.
RAPHTALIA sneers.
RAPHTALIA: As long as the alternative is letting us damned demihumans go free, there will always be some kind of crisis that rears its head.
REN clasps his head with both hands in frustration.
REN: No there won’t be! We are, literally, in the middle of a once in a lifetime worldwide existential crisis that could kill us all! This is the definition of a unique circumstance. Look, I agree that slavery is abominable, and you have my word I will push for the abolition at the first opportunity, but this is the worst time for it.
NAOFUMI shakes his head.
NAOFUMI: You are wrong - now is the perfect time for it. You said it yourself - it’s a crisis that can kill us all. If the society, when faced with this crisis, isn’t willing to do the bare minimum and relax their grip on the demihuman throats, then there is no hope for them solving it at all. Put it this way: if those slave-owning nobles were locked up in a cabin of a sinking ship with a group of slaves, and they had the only key, they would prefer to go down with the ship than unlock the cabin and have them all go out together. Even if you solve the crisis, the division between humans and demihumans would only deepen. On the other hand, if you let the slaves go free, and fight against the Waves together - well, there is no way to patch over the long history of oppression, but it will make later reconstruction much easier.
REN sighs and rubs his eyes.
REN: Alright, maybe you aren’t completely insane, but your actions still make no sense. If you wanted to convince them to abolish slavery as a priority, why would you bring it up at the first meeting? Strategically, you would want to push the topic slowly, lest they get scared away. At least wait until after they have committed to an alliance with you. Do you understand what I mean?
RAPHTALIA frowns.
RAPHTALIA: Who says we want to convince them of anything?
REN: What?
REN looks between RAPHTALIA and NAOFUMI in frustration.
REN: Can you pick your stance already? Do you want slavery abolition or not?
RAPHTALIA: Sure, and?
REN: Well how else are you going to get it done if you never convince anybody?
RAPHTALIA looks at NAOFUMI in confusion.
RAPHTALIA: Is he being serious? I can’t tell.
NAOFUMI: Afraid so. It’s like a mental block for some people, they just don’t see it.
REN: What the hell are you two talking about?
RAPHTALIA turns back to REN.
RAPHTALIA: A revolution, obviously.
REN stares at RAPHTALIA for a while, then covers his face with his hands and groans.
REN: Nevermind what I said, you two are insane.
RAPHTALIA: And how, precisely, do you want to “get it done” otherwise?
REN throws his hands up in the air.
REN: The same way you do everything else! You argue with people, convince them to your side of the issue, compromise, and then the policy gets passed. Starting a revolution that will lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths is certainly not the way to do it.
RAPHTALIA: Convince them? How the hell do you want me to convince them?
RAPHTALIA approaches REN, bringing their faces closer together.
RAPHTALIA: When my owner used to whip the flesh off my back, I would beg and scream for hours, until my voice gave out. He didn’t stop. He didn’t get convinced. What kind of argument do you think could have persuaded him, hm? Made him stop laughing? Do you think falling down on my knees and kissing the ground would have done that? It didn’t work for me. Do you think if all the demihumans in the country fell down on their knees and begged, that would have worked?
RAPHTALIA grabs REN by the shoulder and brings her voice down to a hiss.
RAPHTALIA: Slavers don’t get convinced to stop being slavers. They already know what they are doing. The only way you get them to stop is with a sword to the neck.
REN clenches his teeth and stares RAPHTALIA down.
REN: If that’s what you think, why did you even come?
NAOFUMI: There was a chance they might have been easy to convince. A noble from more industrialized prefectures - a city, perhaps - would naturally have less of an attachment to slavery. Alternatively, they could have come from Shieldfrieden. But given that we can see that is not the case, and that they speak in terms of slavery apologia, there is no real point in getting involved in their political games. Changing out one slaver for another is simply a waste of time.
REN glares at NAOFUMI. RAPHTALIA turns aside.
REN: So what, you will start a war, murder hundreds of thousands just for the possibility of ending slavery? Do you know why revolutions always end up bad? You can’t build a stable society on a foundation of violence. All you will get are a bunch of backwater warlord kingdoms, worse than what came before.
NAOFUMI sighs.
NAOFUMI: Do you think there is an alternative? Look, even if you manage to get a majority in whatever passes for political organs of this country, and push through some kind of anti-slavery law - do you think slave owners would just fold their hands and sit on their asses? No, obviously not. This issue is far too important to them - it’s the foundation of their wealth. You will, inevitably, end up with a civil war. At the end of the day, it will still come down to the barrel of a gun.
REN: Nonsense. This was not my area of focus, but even I know countries have ended slavery without bloodshed before - England did it, and so did Denmark. This is not inevitable.
NAOFUMI: And did those countries have massive populations of slaves and slave-owners? Somehow I don’t remember hearing about cotton farms on the English Isles.
NAOFUMI pauses.
NAOFUMI: Do you know what your problem is? It’s not with the facts of what we are saying. It’s your liberal moderate mindset getting in the way.
REN: What?
NAOFUMI: You imagine yourself living in a world where as long as everything stays peaceful and quiet, and as long as we all follow the rules, we can all come to a reasonable agreement, find a compromise and everything will be fine. And because of that, you think that when we bring up murder and war - or, frankly, any other type of direct action - we must be some kind of monsters that would resort to it out of a natural sense of bloodshed. But that’s just an illusion. I believe the term for it is “negative peace” - the absence of outwardly visible societal tensions - as contrasted to “positive peace”, which would entail the presence of justice. Sometimes, making tensions visible is a necessary step on the path to resolving them. Of course, you can be quite comfortable asserting the opposite, given that you won’t be the one feeling the whip every day that your supposed “compromise” does not come.
NAOFUMI comes closer and looks into REN’s eyes.
NAOFUMI: Some people just want to keep their power over fellow human beings, and no amount of arguments or pleas will change that. There is no way to compromise with them. The sooner you get that, the sooner we can talk about the Waves.
REN keeps his gaze steady.
REN: Talk about the Waves? Nothing you said addressed the Waves. You can insult me all you want, but at the end of the day, we need resources, the nobles have those resources, and the only feasible way of getting them is convincing nobles to fight the Waves. Your bullshit may very well get us all killed.
REN, NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA fence with their eyes. CONSTANCE comes out of the tavern, and heads towards their group.
CONSTANCE: While you were arguing, I think I have convinced her Ladyship Veraya of the feasibility of our alliance, at least for now. Sir Ren, I believe she would still like to talk to you personally - I sadly could not represent your preferences in the negotiation, as I do not know them.
NAOFUMI raises a curious eyebrow. REN glances at CONSTANCE, then back to NAOFUMI.
REN: We will talk later. This isn’t over.
REN heads into the tavern. NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA approach CONSTANCE.
NAOFUMI: You don’t think this is a waste of time?
CONSTANCE shakes her head.
CONSTANCE: No, I actually think this could be quite useful. I think I got a reasonable sense of what they want.
NAOFUMI: Did my aggressive pitch against slavery not put her off?
CONSTANCE waves him off.
CONSTANCE: Being against slavery just makes you an eccentric, which you already are. Bringing it up once or twice will not even get you in trouble with the slavers, let alone most of the rest of nobility - they will just play it off as a joke, or a personal affectation. Over time, if you keep at it, it may become a social problem - but we aren’t playing the long game here. Besides…
CONSTANCE chews on her lip.
CONSTANCE: I don’t think she is actually in favor of slavery. Or at least, not directly.
NAOFUMI raises an eyebrow.
CONSTANCE: I know what I am talking about. From the way she spoke with me when you left, I think she was just surprised by the idea of abolishing it - her objections were just a reaction to how strange that sounded. I also think she likes to argue for the sake of it. But she doesn’t have that put-upon appearance of racial superiority all slavers put on as soon as the topic comes up - it oozes out of their every pore if you know how to spot it. Frankly, I don’t think she even interacted with all that many slaves in her life.
CONSTANCE turns to look back at the tavern.
CONSTANCE: I’d like to stay here overnight - maybe I’ll catch the Baroness in the morning, or later today, for another talk. She had already offered us rooms. You could head back to Lute, if you’d like, and pick me up in the morning.
NAOFUMI frowns.
NAOFUMI: No, if you are staying, I think we should all stay. It would be safer that way.
They head back into the tavern.
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SCENE: Morning. The same tavern. NAOFUMI comes down from the second story. RAPHTALIA comes from the door in the back of the room, carrying two plates of fried eggs. She puts the plates down on one of the tables, motions for NAOFUMI, and starts eating her food. NAOFUMI comes to the table and sits down warily. RAPHTALIA rolls her eyes at him.
RAPHTALIA: Unless they poisoned the actual eggs inside the hen, they are safe. I cooked them myself.
NAOFUMI: You never know with nobility…
NAOFUMI starts eating his food.
RAPHTALIA: I think I heard Fredalia in the room with the Baroness. I am not sure where Filo went though.
NAOFUMI hums noncommittally. They eat quickly. Suddenly, a crack of thunder comes from the outside. They share a look.
NAOFUMI: It could be a mundane storm.
RAPHTALIA: In bright daylight? Yeah, right.
They get up and rush outside. In the distance, they see a glow flash over the village rooftops. They sprint towards it. Soon, they round the corner, and the view opens on a wide field. In the middle of the field REN is sending various bright projectiles at FILO from the tip of his sword. FILO is dodging around them with a focused look on her face, boosting her movement with wind magic occasionally. NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA come to a stop.
NAOFUMI: What the hell?...
RAPHTALIA: Filo, you alright in there?
RAPHTALIA’s call makes REN turn his head in their direction for a brief moment, and FILO immediately pounces across the distance. Air currents around her pick up two small branches off the ground and throw them at REN at incredible speed. His sword moves to parry the branches without him looking and sends them back at the same speed they came in, but this movement takes the sword too far away from his body to block FILO’s real attack, and she lands a kick under his chin. REN flies up three meters into the air and comes crashing down with a groan.
FILO: Yeah, we are just training. He keeps getting distracted though.
REN groans again, not getting up. FILO is cheerfully bouncing on the balls of her feet.
REN: You call beating me up training?
FILO: Aw, cmon, you are getting better at it!
REN: I am twenty levels above you. I am not supposed to be getting better, I am supposed to already be good enough to flatten you.
FILO: Well, no, that’s wrong.
REN raises his head. NAOFUMI and RAPHTALIA slowly come closer.
REN: How is it wrong?
FILO: Well first of all I am cursed - this means it’s like you are thirty levels above me, not twenty, right?
REN: Alright, that’s it.
REN turns into a ball of blades and FILO hurriedly leaps back. When the ball disperses, REN is rushing towards FILO. She is forced backwards across the field, dodging around the lines of planted crops. Suddenly REN stumbles, his leg going wide on the wet, recently plowed ground. FILO easily catches his sword arm in her hand, and flips REN over her head, making him hit the ground with a loud whack.
FILO: Secondly, I told you already, stats aren’t everything. You sit in your city and have other people hunt for you, so of course you are bad at all the fighting stuff that doesn’t have a stat attached to it. There isn’t a number for how good you are at aiming your magic blasts, or for knowing how to watch where you put your feet, or for how to trick me about what you are going to do. This means that as long as I am fast enough to get out of the way of all those explosions, they don’t actually do anything. And what the stats do give you out of the box, eh, ain’t impressive since you don’t know how to use it well. Maybe for dumb monsters that’s good enough, but it won’t work on me.
FILO knocks on her forehead to emphasize her point.
FILO: Won’t work on smart monsters either. Some of them can be pretty tricky!
REN gets up off the ground and takes a defensive stance. FILO circles him several times, closing in suddenly to bait an attack and throwing small stones in his direction, but REN seems intent on not being baited this time. RAPHTALIA watches this, her hands folded on her chest.
RAPHTALIA: Frankly, I think she is going easy on you.
REN: What?
REN’s head spins around automatically to look at RAPHTALIA, and FILO sends him into the air again.
FILO: Also, you keep getting distracted. Cmon, eyes on me when I am punching you!
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE
NAOFUMI IWATANI, THE SHIELD HERO. The first socialist. Protagonist. Talks about slavery too much - needs a hobby.
FILO. Radical combat stat antireductionist. Loves to punch.
RAPHTALIA. The second socialist. Member of the class of assassins.
AMAKI REN, THE SWORD HERO. The vilest of the vile - a liberal. Moderate slavery abolitionist. Knows a lot about the system. Does politics.
BARONESS VERAYA VON BELEVITZ. Almost certainly not a Baroness. Represents the anti-Myne faction.
SHADOWY FULANA JEN. Secret agent of the BARONESS. Shady, but well-intentioned.