DAY 25

DAY OF THE FINAL EVALUATION

In the five days following the First Exhibition, Seiji had done everything to make Cora happy. She’d apologized for her sudden outburst, and Seiji’d apologized profusely for his rudeness, but things between them were much different. For starters, she was cold with him. Clinical. Professional. If Seiji attempted to initiate any sort of contact that wasn’t combat related, she’d reject it. During their training, she’d begun to set alarms to signal the end of the day. Apparently, Cora didn’t even want to spend time with him after training anymore.

As Seiji paced about his gray dorm room, he continued to complain to the room’s two occupants.

“Every time I talk to her, she gives me short responses! Endora said she’d train us if I hit Tier 5, but how can that happen when she isn’t even talking to me? The Favorite’s Rites are in two days!”

“Cora’s a Cadet,” Thea began through a mouthful of pear on his couch. “But she’s still a girl.” She waved her pair at Seiji, who’d stopped in the kitchen. “You hurt her feelings. Girls get quiet when they’re mad at you. It’s a thing.”

“Yeah,” Akio responded from beside Thea, absently eating at a bowl of curry. “Endora gets the same way with me when she’s upset.” He jabbed a fork at Seiji, who’d made his way to his bed. “Just figure out how to calm her down. But you need to mean it, don’t just calm her down then go back to doing the same old. Be better.”

“Oh? And how do you calm her down?” Thea asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Depends on what I did,” Akio shrugged, not meeting her gaze.

Seiji groaned internally as he watched them laugh on the couch. He truly appreciated their company, but they hadn’t been any help. The Favorite’s Rites were in two days. His current plan of trying to return to normal like nothing had happened just wasn’t cutting it. Endora told him to be himself, but he was afraid of himself. Seiji came to realize that truth the more he pondered Endora’s words. He was afraid of what’d happen if he let that assassin loose.

Then how else can I beat Lirio? I won’t be hitting Tier 8 in five days.

Dread overtook Seiji as that truth settled on him like a vice. He was wasting time. He needed someone he could talk to that would set him on the right track. The last time Sir Lasko–

Sir Lasko!

After the First Evaluation, his and Cora’s relationship blossomed that very same day. Endora said her father knew how to get to the heart of a problem and Seiji knew she was right. He needed him. Seiji ran over to Thea on the couch and seized her by the shoulders.

“Take me to Sir Lasko!”

“T-the System didn’t call for you yet! It isn’t your time!” Thea stammered, clearly startled by the suddenness of Seiji’s words. Akio didn’t say a word, meeting him only with a knowing smile. Seiji leaned a bit closer.

“Please, Thea, I only have five days left. I need to talk to him now. Every second counts.”

“Otsuki, Sir Lasko is my boss. If I send you to him early, I can get in serious trouble.”

“Then I’ll take the blame! I’ll leave you out of it!”

“It doesn’t work like–”

Seiji watched as Thea’s eyes slowly fell from resolute to resigned. She took a deep breath.

“I’ll send you a block away. Turn the corner and enter the building with the Lambros Crest on the door. Don’t say a word about me to him, you got it?”

Seiji gave her the most genuine smile he possibly could. Akio smiled and said something, but Seiji couldn’t hear it while Thea teleported him away.

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

Dorian felt a spike of alarm for an instant the moment his door burst open. Had something gone wrong in Haven? That alarm vanished the moment Seiji Otsuki walked into his office. The white-haired boy sat himself in the brown chair across from him and began to spew words from his mouth.

“Sir Lasko! After I fought we got into an argument and now Cora hates me and I kinda know why she hates me but I’m trying to fix it and she won’t budge and I don’t know what to do so I was–”

Dorian lifted a hand to stop him. If he were being honest with himself, Seiji was the most interesting Servant to evaluate. Well… second most. Alexandros was an interesting case. Even so, Seiji reminded him a lot of Vassilis when they were still growing up. He had a feeling he knew what Seiji’s problem was, but he decided to consult his Living Aspect. Might as well be certain.

“Can you help–”

“Quiet.” Sir Lasko said.

Too much like Vassilis.

Dorian sighed, calling his Animarum Aspect from deep within. He tapped a sheet of papers on his desk as he began to consult the Living Aspect.

What are Seiji’s current thoughts?

The paper etched words into the empty sheet of paper. Dorian traced them with his pen.

LOVE. FEAR. CORA. STAY. WEAK.

That was easy enough. He’d watched his fight firsthand. Seiji felt insecure from his inability to defeat Lirio, and now he felt too weak to keep going. He knows that if he taps into his Soul he’ll be able to do it, but he’s afraid of himself. Now, that fear of himself is faced with his love for Cora, and Seiji doesn’t know which one to let win.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Before I start this, I need to know. How the hell did Seiji get here?

THEA. GUILT. SISTER. LOVE. DIRECTIONS. WALK.

Dorian tried hard not to roll his eyes. He knew about Thea’s streak of befriending weak Servants and turning their rooms into butler hangouts. Dorian had allowed it these past few years. Happy employees were good employees after all. Now, she’d managed to get close to a contender and form some sort of familial bond with him. A bond strong enough that Seiji managed to guilt her into disobeying him. That sounded far too much like something Endora would do to him, and obviously, it’d work. When the Exam ended, he’d have to talk to his daughter about the things she was teaching her students. At least they loved each other, that accounted for something, Dorian assumed.

“Speak slowly. Tell me, Servant Otsuki. What is the issue here?

Seiji took a deep breath. “I got soft, but in a bad way. I fight like a coward, and my relationship with Cora is getting worse because of it.” He looked to the side. “I’m trying to make things right, but Cora isn’t talking to me anymore. I don’t know what to do.”

Let’s try that communication thread.

“Let’s start there.” Dorian began, filing his papers away. He didn’t need them for what he was about to ask. “Be honest with me,” He leaned close. “What are your feelings for Cora? It’ll be difficult to communicate with her if you don’t know what you’re feeling.”

Seiji squirmed in his seat. “I don’t fight to assist her… I fight… for her.”

Dorian raised an eyebrow, trying hard not to roll his eyes.

“I want nothing more than… to see her happy.” Seiji shot glances between Dorian and the rest of the room. “I dislike seeing her upset. I… value her companionship.”

This time, Dorian did roll his eyes. He may as well have been speaking with Vassilis. With an exhausted tone, he said the same words he spoke to his friend years ago – before he confessed to Eir.

“Vas… Seiji,” Dorian corrected. “True communication is impossible without transparency and introspection. If you can’t tell me what you want, then you can’t expect to relay anything of value to your partner. You can’t expect them to just know how you’re feeling either.”

“I’m afraid of driving her away.”

Seiji no longer darted his eyes around the room like a nervous teenager. Conviction and resolution danced around Seiji’s face as he continued to speak.

“I feel like if I actively train my bloodlust, it’ll hurt her.”

Bloodlust? Is that what he calls his Soul?

“I used it to defeat Alexandra and I used it against Lirio. When I fought them, I saw them as nothing more than playthings. I don’t want to look at Cora like that. I value her far too much to look down on her with the same eyes that I’d look down on a victim with.” Seiji took a deep breath, his eyes slowly going distant. “We had a saying, Fate Has Decided. I didn’t kill Alexandros, Fate decided to kill him. All I did was carry out its will.” He turned back to Lirio, his eyes pleading. “I don’t want Fate to decide to kill Cora. I don’t want her to die. But I don’t want her to be afraid of me either. I just don’t know what to do.”

Dorian decided to get the business part of the Final Evaluation out of the way, though he knew Seiji would give the right answer.

“Seiji Otsuki, tell me this. Are you loyal to Haven, or are you loyal to Cora?”

“I’m loyal to Cora,” Seiji answered immediately, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Just as he’d expected. It would’ve genuinely pained him to watch Seiji leave the Exam before he could assist him.

“That’s good,” Dorian admitted. “But you must know. Valkyries are no strangers to killing. Queen Eir has likely killed far more people than you ever have.” He leaned closer. “Do you think Cora is capable of becoming a killer?”

Seiji shrugged, eyes still wide following Dorian’s prior statement. Shaking himself, he finally answered. “She has the bloodlust of one, but it just isn’t… there yet.”

It took effort for Dorian not to burst out into laughter. Not there yet? How high were his standards? Her Soul was powerful enough that Dorian himself had to fight to stay under control. The only thing that kept him from submitting to Cora’s overpowering will were the prideful chants from the Cadet’s mother. Not there yet…

“I see,” Dorian chuckled, though he didn’t mean to. “In that case, I suppose I should extend an offer to her to join the Royal Guard.”

Seiji raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Royal Guards are not required to kill like Valkyries occasionally are. With the Soul she displayed in her fight against Selene, I imagine Cora will be the most powerful member of the Soul or Einherjar Divisions the Royal Guard has ever seen.” Dorian shrugged. “Perhaps she could become a butler? Thea was a Cadet at one point, you know. A strong one, too. Did you know she–”

“Cora is a Valkyrie.”

Dorian had begun to smile, but Seiji was unamused. He scowled at Dorian as though he were about to strike. Good. This was the man Cora needed as her Servant. Not that petulant child that burst into his door.

“Servant Otsuki,” Dorian said, leaning close. “Cora cannot become a Valkyrie on her own. She needs you, not the version of yourself you created here, but you, as you were raised to be. You are the master of your own mind. All power that exists within you is yours. It is on you to wield it or suppress it.”

Seiji’s conviction flagged for just a moment, and Dorian seized the opportunity. Once again, he gave Seiji the same advice he gave to his oldest friend.

“Have faith in Cora. She’s been waiting for you. It’s time for you to truly introduce yourself.”

Seiji’s eyes widened at that, and Dorian watched with a small sense of pride as Seiji was hit with some sort of realization. The boy stood from his seat and walked toward the door. Before he opened it, he turned back to Dorian and bowed like a butler.

“Thank you, Sir Lasko. Your words have been… eye-opening.”

“What’re you thanking me for? I never said you passed?”

Seiji reeled. Dorian couldn’t help it, he laughed.

“I’m just yankin’ yer chain, kid. Do what you need to do.”, He said, a touch of his old accent coming out.

Seiji laughed but didn’t say anything. He bowed again, then ran out of the room. Moments after the door closed, a pillar of yellow light as tall and thin as a young woman appeared where Seiji had been standing at the door. When it faded, a familiar woman stood and immediately bowed.

“Forgive me, Sir Lasko. Servant Otsuki managed to–”

“The kid loves you like family, you know.”

Thea raised her head.

“I think we all are to him,” She responded.

“I suppose,” Dorian shrugged. “But it’s different with you and my daughter. You guys picked right.”

“I… thank you,” Thea said, her voice breaking. She coughed. “He can be a handful sometimes, but he’s a good kid. I want him to win.”

It was against Butler’s Etiquette to speak so freely with a superior, but Dorian let it pass. If she wasn’t Endora’s best friend, though, she’d be in Lower Haven right now.

“It’s on him and Cora now.”