DAY 10

FIRST EVALUATION

Seiji sat at the edge of his bed, furiously twirling his dagger in his right hand. Thea sat on his couch across from him, leisurely watching the black rectangle across from her. She hadn’t said much to him, though part of him hoped she would. He didn’t care whether it was a joke about his and Cora’s relationship, a slight against him, or even just idle conversation about her work week. He just needed something… anything to distract him from the looming Evaluation.

If she won’t say anything, I will.

“Hey, what’s that rectangle anyway? I’ve seen a bunch of them around Haven and nobody ever seems to care.”

“Stop being an idiot.” Thea groaned.

“I’m being serious.”

Thea turned from the rectangle, back to Seiji, and back to the rectangle. She did that a few times, looking more and more dumbfounded with each repetition. She finally focused on Seiji when she decided to speak.

“You’re being serious!”

Seiji nodded.

Thea laughed furiously.

“It’s a TV! They didn't have those on your planet?”

“If they did, I wouldn't have asked.”

As Thea explained what a TV was, he felt a lot of things click into place at once. He’d wondered how the spectators at the Botanist’s Bond Event had seen them compete without having been there. He’d assumed some magic technique allowed them all to watch, and apparently, it was all manmade technology that made it possible. It explained why Cora would always talk about her favorite ‘movies’ after training, and why Thea would always focus on it during her drunken conversations with him.

“What do you do when I’m not here?” Thea asked, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Read,” Seiji answered defiantly.

Seiji had always been an avid reader, though there wasn’t much else to do on The Ardor. Now that he wasn’t there and wouldn’t be returning, perhaps it was time to give this ‘TV’ a chance. She'd been telling him about shows and movies to watch when she changed the topic to one Seiji’d hoped would’ve come some other time.

“You know, I’m still hurt that you didn’t order any food the other day.” Thea crossed her arms. “Do you want your dear old sister to starve?”

“First, you aren’t my sister. Second, I was… out.”

Thea raised her eyebrows at him. Seiji nodded, refusing to meet her eyes.

“I see.” Thea mused. “You ate out.”

Seiji almost said yes, but he stopped himself. Thea laughed, throwing the TV remote at him. He caught it absently as she continued.

“Look at you! My little brother went on his first date!” Thea walked up to him and squeezed his cheeks. He smacked her hands away. “Tell me all about it!”

He tried to tell her it was training and not a date, but she wouldn’t accept that. As he recounted his and Cora’s… outing, he found himself smiling fondly as he recalled the day’s events. Thea smiled too, looking almost like a proud mother as Seiji talked about their time in Athena’s Antichamber. He would’ve liked to save this story for when she was drunk, that way she’d forget it. Now, he knew she’d bring it up whenever she got the chance. Seiji desperately hoped that Thea didn’t have any more jobs working an event he and Cora would be at.

“Did you at least do Endy’s Felzian Trick at some point?” Thea stepped closer, her smile growing mischievous. “The effect changes depending on when you do it, you know.”

Thea and Endora had a strange friendship Seiji couldn't understand. According to Cora, Endora used to be more like Eir in her youth. He couldn’t imagine Eir or anyone similar being friends with someone like Thea. Regardless, the two were thick as thieves, apparently.

“As if you’d have an opportunity to test that.” Seiji retorted. Thea leaned back and scrunched her face.

“Th-that isn’t fair at–” She cut herself off, her eyes widening as though struck by an idea. She smiled at him, narrowing her eyes as she spoke in a soft tone. “Did you know that the Tauran equivalent is patting them on the back?”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Well,” Thea shrugged, her tone uncaring. “Dorian’s a Tauran! It might be good to keep that back-pat in your back pocket.”

“...And why should I do that?”

“He’s the one that’ll be Evaluating you, dummy!”

A wave of nerves hit Seiji all at once. He leaned back into his bed, his Exam jacket fluttering in front of him as he landed back into the mattress. Thea continued speaking, her tone still disinterested.

“You know, if you lose you’ll be sent back today. When I was a Cadet, all I could do was wait in my training hall and hope my Servant didn’t say something stupid! I bet Cora’s in her training hall praying that–”

“Thea,” Seiji relented. “Please stop.”

Thea sighed, sitting beside Seiji on his bed. He stared at the ceiling as she spoke.

“You’re gonna pass, little brother. I wouldn’t joke around if I wasn’t confident in you.” She tapped his cheek a few times, though they felt like slaps. “You’ve got this, Otsuki.”

Seiji looked over at her from his position on the bed.

“I told you about calling me Otsu–”

His sentence was interrupted when his System materialized before him, the message in the familiar blue box filling him once again with a feeling of dread.

SERVANT OTSUKI

YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH SIR LASKO HAS COME.

PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR NEAREST BUTLER FOR TRANSPORT.

Seiji let out a breath. Thea rose from her seat at the edge of the bed, and Seiji slowly joined her. Her own System likely showed her the same thing. When they both stood, she placed a hand on Seiji’s shoulder and smiled.

“Grab him by the horns, little brother!”

“Tha–”

His words were cut off when bright yellow light swallowed his vision. Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. Leaving him seated in an office across from Sir Lasko.

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Seiji recognized the office he sat in. It was the place he’d woken up in after his failed assassination on The Ardor. It’d been slightly restructured, with the desk in the center of the room instead of the left wall, and there were now two chairs instead of one, but it was still the creaky wooden room he remembered. The only detail that stood out to him as new was the familiar crack on the wall behind Sir Lasko.

Sir Lasko didn’t look like a Royal Guard. He didn’t wear the same shining golden armor they did, much like how King Vassilis didn’t wear the crown Seiji assumed he would. The man instead wore a simple white and maroon long coat with a single black-armored sleeve and steel gauntlets. Though neither he nor the king looked the part, they both felt it. Sir Lasko radiated an aura that assured Seiji he was powerful. Seiji was a bit surprised he didn’t notice it when he’d first met the man.

Was that really a meeting, though? I was blind and paralyzed.

As the thought occurred to Seiji, Sir Lasko tapped a stack of papers on his table. He tapped at black, curved horns, coughed into a gauntleted hand, scratched a scar at his cheek, and… wrote into his papers. The man hadn’t said a word to Seiji.

Observe, Empathize, Soothe.

“Are you alright? I could go out and get us some tea?”

Sir Lasko looked up at Seiji, brown eyes meeting red. Aside from the jagged scars, the man was quite handsome. His hair was the perfect blend of brown and gray, his facial hair well groomed, and his horns were short and curved. If things went poorly, Seiji imagined a play at the man’s ego might serve him well.

“No need, Servant Otsuki. No need.”

The man returned to his writing. Seiji continued his observations of the circumstances, but was interrupted when Sir Lasko finally asked him a question.

“How have you been enjoying our city, Servant Otsuki?” He asked, eyes still glued on his papers.

“I-it’s been great!” Seiji answered immediately. “It’s nice, definitely nicer than my old city. It’s safe, and the townspeople are kind.”

“Is it what you expected it to be?”

Seiji frowned slightly. He didn’t have any expectations of Haven. How could he expect anything considering the circumstances of his arrival? That felt like the wrong thing to say, though, so he decided to appeal to the man’s sense of national pride.

“I appreciate the hospitality that I’ve received here. Everything is nice, well-maintained, and orderly. In truth, I would consider it my ideal home.”

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“I see.” Sir Lasko nodded, still focused on his writing. “Tell me, what is your opinion of the Royal Family?”

I hope he doesn’t know about the petting thing. That’ll get me sent back to The Ardor for sure.

“The king and queen seemed pretty intense when I first saw them, but they…”

Seiji couldn’t find the right words. If he said they didn’t seem scary, would that come off as a threat? What would Cora say in a situation like this?

“King Vassilis reminds me of a man I knew before my… death. Queen Eir seems like a tougher version of Cora.”

Why the hell would I say that?

“I-I don’t mean that!” Seiji said immediately. “Valkyrie Eir–”

“No, that’s pretty accurate.” Sir Lasko said. Though he continued to write, a faint smile tugged at his lips. Seiji held in a sigh of relief.

“Have you had any negative experiences so far?”

Seiji winced. He wouldn’t count his experiences with Selene and Lirio as particularly negative. As annoying as Thea could be, he’d developed a bit of a soft spot for her. Endora liked to poke fun and eavesdrop, but she was a valuable ally. The only negative experience he’d had was at the System Ceremony… with Cora.

“Cora and I got into an argument during the System Ceremony.” Before Sir Lasko could say anything, Seiji immediately added, “But we’ve made up! That’s long in the past, now.”

“I see.”

The man scribbled something into his paper, and Seiji cursed his inability to read what it said. Sir Lasko’s lack of a reaction made all of this far worse on the mind. He imagined that was intentional, but it still worked his nerves.

“And, why are you being dishonest with yourself?”

Seiji frowned, unsure what to make of the question.

“I’m sorry?” Seiji tried.

Seiji’s heart dropped as Sir Lasko lifted his head, thumbing directly behind him. To the crack in the wall. His eyes glowed a shimmering blue as cracks slowly filled in, returning the wall to its original state.

“I’m aware of the deal you made with Lady Cora. you know.” Sir Lasko sat straight now, hands folded as he looked straight into Seiji’s eyes.

If his heart could sink further, it would. Words escaped him. Thought escaped him. All he could do was rely on pure instinct. Thankfully, Cora managed to train new instincts in him.

“T-that’s a neat ability. I wish I was able to fix walls with–”

“Observe, Empathize, Soothe.” Sir Lasko chuckled. “Back when I was a mercenary, that’s how I made my money. Find an aristocrat drinking their pain away, give them a heart-to-heart, then offer to solve whatever issue they faced the only way I knew how.” He smiled. “Worked like a charm.”

Seiji looked around nervously.

“Y-you’re quite handsome?”

Sir Lasko sighed.

“Suppose you and Cora succeed in the Valkyrie Exam. She becomes a Valkyrie, and you become a regular man – free to roam the world at leisure. What will you do next?”

“I… I planned on exploring the world. I want to figure out who I am.” Seiji looked into Sir Lasko’s eyes. Lying seemed pointless, so he decided to elaborate. “I’ve never had an opportunity to figure myself out, and I can’t be a good friend to Cora if I’m…” Seiji gestured to himself. “...me.”

Sir Lasko nodded to him. The man’s eyes softened slightly, the air around him far less intense.

“I have been you once before, Seiji, so please listen to this old man’s words.”

“Alright.”

“You have nothing to gain from solitude.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone should experience solitude at some point in their lives. It is an excellent teacher. You, however, have experienced far too much of it in life to pursue it in–.”

“How the hell would you know what’s best for me?” Seiji spat.

It was wrong. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t stop himself. He stood from his seat, his eyes wide. Sir Lasko continued to look at him with soft eyes. No matter.

“I have nothing to offer Cora other than my strength, and I’m not even the strongest Servant, you hear me?! If I don’t know who I am, how the hell am I supposed to be a good friend to her? How am I supposed to be a good friend to myself?!”

He'd been shouting. Seiji breathed heavy breaths as his eyes slowly misted. He wanted to curse to the heavens. First, he yelled at his Evaluator, then he shed tears in front of him. If it was already out there, he might as well keep going.

“I have nothing. I have no worth, no value!” Seiji sat back down, burying his head in his palms. “I’m just an assassin. Cora doesn’t need one of those. Endora doesn’t need one of those. Hell, Thea doesn’t need one of those. As soon as I’m gone, they’ll find someone better and more fit to be here than me.”

Tears fell down Seiji’s cheek to the wooden desk as he thought about his death. Not once had he sat to truly think about who he was, and who he wanted to become. He treated answering that question like some distant goal, a privilege he’d earn as soon as he won the Valkyrie Exam with Cora. Now, it felt like he’d wasted his and Cora’s time. He wasn’t a Servant. He was an assassin pretending to be one. Nothing had changed, and he’d be contending with that truth as soon as he returned to The Ardor.

Seiji wiped his tears with a sleeve, shame and embarrassment filling his gut as he realized the sleeve was drenched. He looked into Sir Lasko’s eyes. The man looked unperturbed.

“Please forgive me,” Seiji apologized, lowering his head in a seated bow. “I hope this doesn’t reflect poorly on Cora. I’m normally… better with conversation.”

“No worries,” Sir Lasko nodded. “My first conversation with Vassilis was quite similar.” The man laughed quietly, though Seiji wasn’t able to join him. He turned his hand at Seiji.

“Tell me. What would the Seiji that arrived in this office ten days ago say about the boy that sits before me now?”

“He’d say ‘you got soft’,” Seiji answered immediately. “I don’t fight to kill, I do conversation training, I go on dates, I… cry. He’d kill me for sharing a name with him.”

Sir Lasko smiled as though he’d won some sort of argument. The gesture reminded him greatly of Endora.

“Well,” he began, folding his hands. “I would say that he became more of a man.”

Seiji looked up at him.

“You have changed, Seiji. Cora has made you a better person. My daughter has helped you visualize your flaws. Thea has helped grow your patience. Selene and Lirio both motivate and inspire you, though you may not see that yet.” He leaned closer, his words almost a whisper. “How will you pay them back?”

Much to his own embarrassment, Seiji felt another wave of tears growing. Thankfully, he managed to choke them back.

“I’ll make sure Cora becomes a Valkyrie. I know I only have my str–”

“You have yourself to offer.” Sir Lasko interrupted. He leaned back. “Your presence, your mental strength, your companionship, your words, your protection. You have more to offer the world than brute force.”

Seiji couldn’t hold back the next wave, though he really did try. Sir Lasko placed a hand on his trembling shoulder as Seiji let years of buried insecurities out on his desk. When he finally finished, Sir Lasko handed him tissues and a mirror. He looked awful. His eyes were red, his nose was running, and his mouth still quivered. A distant part of himself thought he looked great though. He hoped he did. He had somewhere to be after this.

“You know,” Sir Lasko began, thumbing through papers on his desk. “If you end up failing the Valkyrie Exam, I’d love to have you in the Royal Guard. You would make a fine addition to the Soul Division?”

Seiji didn’t want to decline immediately, so he decided to ask, “Does that mean I’ll have the ability to drag people’s souls across the universe?”

“Yes,” Sir Lasko answered. “It isn’t that interesting, though.” He tapped a stack of papers on his desk before filing them to the side. “The Royal Guard learned the ability generations ago by reading a passage from the Akashic Archive. They used the ability like a weapon. Us? We use it for transport. It takes all of us working together to drag you all through the universe.” He sighed. “It leaves us all drained for weeks.”

“That’s interesting.” Seiji lied. “When would you hire me?”

“I’ll give it a few years. Handle your business back home, get your affairs in order, then I’ll have my daughter come pick you up.”

Seiji nodded. Sir Lasko sighed and shook his head.

“Cora’s rubbing off on you.”

“What makes you say that?”

“She does the same thing when she wants to leave. Are the Royal Guard not interesting?”

“Yes, they are! It’s just… I really need to go.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sir Lasko sighed. “Go on and tell her you passed.”

----------------------------------------

Seiji could hear Cora and Endora training from outside their training hall. Any other day, he would’ve been nervous to open the door – especially considering his appearance. His eyes were still red from tears, though they’d long since dried on his face. With an unfamiliar vigor, he opened the door to the training hall. Green wisps of aura circled him as he tried to appear depressed. Why not give her a bit of a scare?

The instant the door opened, Cora barreled into him, tackling him in a constricting hug.

“You passed!” Cora shouted. She squeezed harder, finally stopping as Endora pulled her away.

“How’d you know?” Seiji asked. He’d wanted to act as though he’d failed. So much for that idea.

“If you failed, you wouldn’t have come here. You’d be in The Ardor right now! There are only twelve teams… left..” she trailed off. Cora traced a circle around her eyes with a finger. “You okay?”

Thankfully, Endora answered before Seiji had to explain himself. “My dad knows how to… get to the root of a problem.” She winked at Seiji. “Isn’t that right?”

“That, he does,” Seiji laughed. Cora looked at him in surprise, though Seiji met her with a smile.

“So… how’d it go?” She asked. She looked like she wanted to say something else, and Seiji had a feeling he knew what it was.

He looked up at Endora, unsure of how he could properly ask her to leave. Sure, it was his Evaluation, but Sir Lasko was her father. Besides, she’d helped him become part of the person he was today. Regardless, he couldn’t say what he truly wanted to say in front of Endora. She must’ve read his inner conflict on his face, because she shook her head in mock outrage as she walked toward the door.

“I’ll give you two ten minutes. Then, we train.”

“Please don’t eavesdrop,” Cora called.

Endora tapped at one of her tall rabbit ears and shut the door behind her.

As soon as they heard the sound, Cora grabbed Seiji’s hand and dragged him to the wall furthest from the door. When she was sure Endora couldn’t hear them, Cora spoke in a hushed tone.

“Are you okay? How come you were crying? Did you talk about your past again?”

“I’m fine,” Seiji answered. “And yes, we did talk about my past. I never told him about it, but it seemed like he knew everything about me.”

Cora stiffened. “Everything? Like… everything everything?”

Seiji frowned. “I suppose? And… are you alright? You seem a bit… different.”

She seized him by the shoulders, her eyes frantic. “I’m not different. I’m fine! I’m just worried he knew about our deal, is all! His room is probably bugged with microphones, he definitely knows.” Cora released him, sighed deeply, ran her hands through her hair, and began to pace. “I suppose it’s fine if Sir Lasko knows. He can keep secrets. I’ve told him plenty and he hasn’t shared them. This is different, though. What if he says something?” She seized him by the shoulders again. “Have you had any thoughts about ousting my father and becoming king? He takes that kind of thing seriously, you know.”

“What? No!”

“Okay, good! That’s good! You’re still here. I feel like he’s watching us. Do you think he’s watching us?”

Seiji did his best to calm Cora’s nerves. He imagined she’d been stressed about the First Evaluation for a long time. Even though he stood right in front of her, having passed, she still needed to let go of her lingering nerves. Seeing her pace around the room reminded Seiji of the day they first met, watching her pace around Sir Lasko’s office as she came up with their current arrangement. He found himself thinking of all the time they spent together, training, fighting, talking, laughing. Just by being herself, Cora made Seiji a better person. She made him more of a man.

As Cora paced about the back of their training hall, a single thought permeated his mind. All of her pacing, her frantic worry, her nervous gestures and ticks. It looked… cute. Seiji felt privileged to be the only one to see it, and a selfish part of him wanted that to remain true.

“Thank you for everything, Cora Lambros.”

Cora stopped. She’d been in the middle of pulling at her ears. He stepped closer to her, the girl staring at him in surprise.

“F-for what?” She stammered. “I’ve done a lot of things.”

“The power in my body. The clothes I’m wearing. Every minute of training. You’ve done so much for me. Just by being you, you’ve made me a better me.” Seiji bowed deeply. It was an Ardorian gesture, but Seiji hoped it carried the same effect. “I only pray I can become a Servant worthy of you.”

Something changed in Cora’s eyes. Where once was a nervous acceptance now stood a resolute will Seiji had seen only in Eir and Endora.

“Take a knee, Servant,” Cora ordered.

He did as was commanded. Cora extended a white-gloved hand, removing the glove and placing it into her jacket pocket. Seiji gripped it in one of his as understanding slowly took him. This was just like the System Ceremony. His suspicions were confirmed when Cora finally spoke, her tone as authoritative as a Valkyrie.

“I expect you to fight each battle with the strength of a warrior. Swear to me that you will never back down from any challenge we may face together.”

“I swear it.” Seiji declared.

“I expect you to consider your perception with every action you take. You represent me, and we represent the Royal Family. Swear to me that you will carry yourself with the decorum and poise of a Princess’s Servant.”

“I swear it.”

“I expect that, upon becoming a Valkyrie, we will remain in close contact. S-swear to me that you will not leave me behind in your future exploits.”

Seiji laughed softly. There was no way he’d leave Cora behind. As it stood, there was hardly a chance he’d leave Cora at all. He had nothing to gain in solitude anymore. He kissed her hand and stood to his feet, staring deep into her lavender eyes.

“I swear it,” Seiji said, though it came out closer to a whisper.

Cora’s ears shot up as she choked out a half-hearted grunt of acknowledgment.

“This kind of thing is usually reserved for Servants and Cadets with tenure! They call it a vow renewal, and they’re far more personal! You’d better not let me down, Seiji.” She jabbed a finger at him with her free hand. “If we fail after we did all this, I’ll go down to The Ardor my–”

ADVANCEMENT COMPLETE.

NAME: SEIJI OTSUKI

TIER 3 MAGE

HEALTH: 30

STRENGTH: 15

STAMINA: 15

MAGICAL STRENGTH: 35

MAGICAL STAMINA: 35

AVAILABLE SKILLS: DRAGON FURY, DRAGON SHOT, DRAGON CLAW

Seiji hadn’t let go of Cora’s hand, so she got the notification at the exact same time he did. Lavender and red eyes widened at the same time as they both began to laugh. Cora gripped him in another hug, and Seiji silently hoped Endora would burst in to save him before Cora crushed his ribs. Seiji managed to choke out a weak “Please let go” before Cora jerked away in apology. There were still more Tiers to go before he could handle one of Cora’s hugs.

“Oh, right!” Cora called, clapping her hands together. With a shout, she yelled. “En–”

The door to the training hall burst open. Endora wiped a fake tear from her eye, though her smile looked genuine.

“Yes,” Endora cried. “I would be honored to train you!”