DAY 3
BOTANIST’S BOND EVENT
SEVEN DAYS UNTIL THE FIRST EVALUATION
“You two know why I’ve come to speak to you, yes?”
Seiji knew exactly why Eir requested to speak with them again, and judging by her expression, Cora did too. As soon as they’d exited the staircase down to the Grand Garden, Eir flew over to them on white wings, towering over them with folded arms. Cora was the first to speak.
“Yup! We made a new map!” She drew herself up to her full height, arms crossed and head held high. “I decided to remake the map you took from us!”
Eir stared into Cora’s defiant gaze for a long moment before shifting to Seiji. He didn’t flinch, matching Cora’s confidence. When Eir spoke again, she smiled wide, though it looked sinister on her. It reminded Seiji of his fight with Endora and the manic grin she gave him before getting pelted with attacks by Cora.
“Then you must know Valkyries have consequences for their decisions?”
“I do!” Cora nodded.
The Valkyrie said nothing. Instead, she took a breath, smile still uncomfortably wide, and flew away. When Seiji turned to Cora, the Cadet gasped like she’d been trapped underwater. She pointed at Eir’s retreating figure.
“That was her evil smile. That means something big is about to happen.”
“A little late to get nervous, don’t you think?”
Cora frowned. “I’m not nervous! I’m just… wary.”
They went back and forth as they approached the center of the Grand Garden as indicated on the official notice. While they chatted, Seiji reached for the folded flier that’d been left in the training hall. He didn’t need to open it, though. His System was useful for things like this, he’d come to learn.
BOTANIST’S BOND EVENT
GUARANTEED TIER INCREASE
THE AMAZING, KINDLY, BEAUTIFUL BOTANIST ENDORA LASKO HAS LOST HER PRODUCE! ARE YOU ABLE TO HELP HER?
COME TO THE CENTER OF THE GRAND GARDEN BY 1:00 PM IF YOU’D LIKE TO LEND HER A HELPING HAND!
Seiji silently thanked Endora for the heads up. If there was anything he hated, it was operating on short notice.
When they arrived at the center of the Grand Garden, Seiji was surprised to find a single familiar face standing alone with hands behind her back. He held back a groan.
“Are you two entering the Botanist’s Bond Event?” Thea asked, her tone dry as though she’d recited that line a hundred times.
“Hello, Miss Thea,” Cora curtsied. “Yes, we are. I am attended by my Servant, Seiji Otsuki.” She said, pointing a thumb at Seiji. “Though I suppose the outfits give that away.”
“I’m very familiar with Otsuki,” Thea smiled dimly. “His dorm room smells nice, and he always keeps it clean. Plus, he eats everything I cook for him.”
“Excuse me?” Cora questioned, shooting a scowl at Seiji.
Here we go…
“I prefer clean rooms, they make my job easier,” Thea continued evenly, ignoring her last comment. “A clean room is a treat compared to a messy one. Consider how difficult the job of a Cadet would be if they had to teach their Servants combat as well as magic!” Thea chuckled to herself before giving a heavy sigh.
“Forgive me, Lady Cora. I’m quite bored if you couldn’t tell. All I’ve been doing is handing out signup sheets.” She fumbled for something in her pocket as she continued, her tone low. “Anyway, I have no interest in Otsuki. No need to get all… grrrr.” She derided, weakly clawing at the air with her free hand. “He’s too young for me. Plus, he isn’t a she, so I'm not interested if you catch my drift. Otsuki has a good palate though, maybe you could come visit us some– ah! Got it.”
Thea revealed a folded sheet of thick paper the size of her palm from her pocket. Judging from the mischievous look she gave Seiji, they both knew she could’ve picked it out immediately. He gave her an annoyed scowl as she unfurled it. Over the past few days, he’d gotten to know Thea and her… unique sense of humor. He wasn’t much of a fan.
I miss when Thea was a wise butler and not an annoying alcoholic.
“This is the signup sheet. Sign your names anywhere on it and I’ll transport you two to the Bond Event, okay?”. She revealed a pencil from her jacket pocket and held both out with her hands. “It starts in ten minutes, by the way.”
Seiji snatched the paper and pencil from Thea’s hands and scribbled his name. A bright red line followed each stroke of the pencil like its tip burned fire into the paper. When Cora wrote her name, she returned the pencil to Thea. The butler smiled softly and raised two lazy fingers in a peace sign.
In a blink, the two were swallowed by yellow light. It dissipated just as quickly, leaving Seiji and Cora in a long tunnel illuminated by distant sunlight. Voices like a waiting audience sounded in the distance where the familiar view of the Grand Garden greeted them. Considering how many voices he heard, Seiji assumed this was the southwestern edge of the Grand Garden. It was the most open area, Cora even saying it was the most common place for non-combative events to be held.
“God, she's annoying!” Cora said, her heavy stomps louder than the audience ahead of them. “Stop inviting her to your room! I need you focused. You can worry about your personal needs when the Exam is over!”
“It’s not like I’m inviting her. She invites herself!” Seiji tried. “All she does is complain about her job, eat my food, get drunk, cry about her love life, then fall asleep in my kitchen! She's more ‘annoying sister’ than–”
“I didn't realize!” Cora intoned, her voice oozing sarcasm. “I don't wanna tear apart a family! Forget I said anything.”
“I don’t–”
“Shut up and walk, Otsuki.” She spat. “We’re almost there.”
Seiji sighed, but said nothing. In truth, he’d only allowed Thea to stick around because he’d hoped she would gossip about the other Servants and Cadets. So far, she’d only made passing comments about some Cadets being skilled with certain weapons or some Servants being particularly untidy or unhygienic. Nothing useful, but no one ever announced when they were going to let a secret slip. Regardless, Cora was his Cadet, not Thea. Before they reached the end of the tunnel, Seiji did his best to clarify that.
“I have no interest in her. She provides me with my daily necessities, and I occasionally attempt to glean useful information about our competitors from her. Please, allow me to apologize on her behalf. She enjoys making people feel uncomfortable, and I should have stopped her before she targeted you.”
Cora gave him a sidelong glance, and Seiji met her eye with one of his. Though she looked annoyed, Seiji knew her well enough to know she wasn’t that upset anymore… hopefully.
“You can make it up to me by doing well in the Bond Event… Otsuki.”
Seiji slumped.
----------------------------------------
When they reached the flat stage at the end of the tunnel, Seiji was a bit surprised to find far fewer people than he’d expected. The audience surrounded the stage, separated by opaque walls of aura. They each sat on simple white chairs and were all transfixed on massive thin rectangular boxes at the center of each wall. At the far end of the stage was Endora, dressed in a white shirt, blue overalls, and tall brown boots. She sat on a tall wicker chair and was surrounded by about similarly dressed children. Closer to them were about eight teams of Cadets and Servants, To his surprise, he felt a bit of disappointment when he couldn’t find Lirio or Selene among them.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“I’m surprised Selene isn’t here,” Cora muttered. “I think this might be far easier than I expected if they aren’t coming.”
Seiji hadn’t fought Selene before, but if Cora’s stories about the girl’s strength were true, he could only agree. As much as he’d like to test himself against Selene and her Servant, he wasn’t in a position to turn down easy victories.
“Alright,” Endora shouted. “I think that’s everybody! What do you guys think?”
“Yeah!” One of the kids shouted. “Let’s start already, I’m hungry!”
Following shouts of agreement from the children, Endora stood from her seat and yelled. All eyes were fixed on her as she floated above the stage with golden wings.
“Okay! The Botanist’s Bond Event is about to begin. I will now go over the rules. I will not be repeating them, so please pay close attention!”
The audience clapped, though they didn’t shout or cheer all that loudly. The children, however, screamed like they were at a concert. Endora looked down on them fondly as she descended back to her chair. When she did, she reached into a tear in space and revealed three sheets of paper.
“Okay, who wants to read the first one?” She said, turning to meet the eyes of each of the children on stage.
“Me! Me! You promised me I could read the first one, remember?”
“Yes, I did! Thank you for reminding me, Macy.”
Endora chuckled as she gave the first sheet to a young elf girl with fake wings strapped to her back.
“Okay. Cadets and Servants… You all need to… gather… pro… uh… produce from around the Grand Garden. You will be… prov…ided… provided, baskets to fill with… fruits and vegetables. You must return fifty items to the stage in an hour or you lose! I did it!”
“You sure did!” Endora cheered, patting the elf girl on the head. “Who’s next?”
Seiji couldn’t have been more happy to have helped draw the map. Their mission was to collect fifty fruits and vegetables from around the map and return them without getting them stolen by other teams. That meant if they followed Cora’s gathering-oriented map, they could have their basket full in minutes. They could also use Seiji’s combat-oriented map to figure out the best spots to ambush other players and rob them should it come down to it.
“That would be all,” Endora began. “But there’s been a terrible accident in my garden recently!”
As the children cried out in shock, Endora’s gaze slowly fixed on Seiji and Cora. She fixed them with a mischievous smile as she continued, her eyes locked on them as she spoke.
“A pair of hungry hungry hyenas decided to eat all my stuff yesterday! Now the garden is almost empty! I don’t know what I should do about them. I feel bad!” Endora looked down to the ground, frowning as she placed her head in her hands.
The elf girl that read the first rule, Macy, shot up from her seat on the floor.
“Don’t be sad! If I was a Valkyrie, I’d beat them up and make them give it back!”
Another child spoke up, a young Tauran boy who read the second rule.
“Yeah! Let’s beat them up!”
Endora spoke up, still pouting. “Beating them up won’t bring the food back, though. I wanted you all to have good food today, now we can’t have anything.”
When some of the kids started crying, Seiji couldn’t help but feel a bit of guilt. He didn’t take anything, he just helped make a map. It was never this serious… right? He turned to Cora, curious how she was taking this. She looked contemplative, muttering to herself like she was working out some difficult puzzle in her head. He left her to it.
“I know!” Macy shouted. “What if the Cadets beat them up and then capture the hyenas so we can sue them? Do you know what they look like?”
“Yes!” Endora shouted, all traces of grief gone. Two images appeared behind her, illusions made of aura and light Seiji imagined. The image on the left was a bestial version of Cora, she had claws like a tiger and fangs to match. She howled with rage at the moon while she clawed at her chest. Seiji’s image, meanwhile was one of him placing a hand on a mirror. His reflection showed him as he currently stood, while the 'real' him was a bipedal monster.
Aren’t we supposed to be hyenas? Why are we werewolves?
Though the audience began to laugh, the children on stage booed, pointing at Cora and Seiji while shouting the worst insults they could think of… which weren’t much considering their age.
“Calm down, children! I’ve thought up a plan to deal with the hyenas!” When the children turned their attention towards Endora and away from Seiji and Cora, she continued.
“The Servant that can trap Cora and Seiji in the gazebo at the northern end of the Grand Garden will be advanced a Tier, in addition to whatever you may earn during this Event! For the Cadet, I’ll personally pay for you to take a Valkyrie training course for a day!”
Every eye on the stage turned to Cora and Seiji. Funnily enough, the Servants and Cadets looked at them like they were food. Seiji looked over every Servant on the stage. He’d fought people far more intimidating. Far stronger. Far more dangerous. These may as well be children in comparison. He wondered if Cora felt the same way about the Cadets.
“Guess we have our work cut… out…” Seiji trailed off.
When he turned to Cora, the girl’s face was… manic. It looked just like Eir’s before they left, and Endora’s during their fight. Though he’d only said it to add levity during their fight, intensity truly was a good look on Cora. He smiled a bit more earnestly as he looked into her wild smile, though the girl seemed lost in whatever thoughts she was having. Seiji looked up as he considered their game plan. Though it landed them in this mess, their map truly was a godsend.
“That about sums everything up!” Endora clapped. “Let’s get this started!”
Cheers sounded from the children and the audience, though the Servants and Cadets made no moves. Their eyes were still fixed on Cora and Seiji.
“Alright, begin!”
Light once again swallowed Seiji’s vision. In a blink, he appeared beside Cora in a vast, open field. Seiji immediately recognized it as the southeastern side of the map, where they’d been when Eir apprehended them prior. At his feet was a large wicker basket and a small card with the rules scribbled onto them.
So much for not repeating the rules.
“Alright, so what’s the game plan?” Seiji began. He revealed the map from his pocket. “We already have a good idea of where everything could be, so we can be in and out of here in a second. If there really are less fruits and vegetables around, we can find hiding spots to ambush–”
“Do you remember what you said about making a statement?” Cora said, her eyes distant.
“I do,” Seiji responded. He leaned closer. “What’re you thinking? Is this why you were grinning like an idiot on stage?”
Cora smiled. “What do you think about the Servants you saw on stage? Do you think you can take them in a fight?”
“Easily,” Seiji answered immediately. “They don’t look like fighters to me. I don’t doubt they’re strong, they were picked for a reason, but they just don’t have it.”
“I agree,” Cora responded, turning to him with a wide grin. “The Cadets don’t have it either. So I came up with an idea – let’s really make a statement!”
“How?”
“Let’s not play!” Cora said, her smile slowly turning wild once again. “We’ll wait at the gazebo, defeat all of the contestants – because they will seek us out – then we can turn in our fifty and leave!”
That plan was dangerous. Risky. Foolish…
…And, it was the best way to make a statement. Seiji doubted they’d qualify for an additional Tier advancement considering the capture rule didn’t apply to them, but this experience would be invaluable nonetheless. If he could fight against the majority of his opponents, he could develop methods of defeating each of them should they fight again. Even if he only got a single Tier advancement, this Bond event was excellent training–
“There!” Cora shouted. She pointed to a young Felzian woman in the distance while a young man beside her reaching down for something.
With a wicked smile, she kicked off with Dragon Fury. Seiji trailed behind her, though wasn’t nearly as fast due to the suddenness of Cora’s assault.
“Servant Oliver!” the Felzian girl shouted. “Lady Cora has arrived! Prepare to–”
Cora punched the Cadet with enough force to send her to the ground. Cora loomed over her, the Cadet guarding her face as she shouted.
“Run! Take our spoils and turn them in! We cannot afford to–”
Cora formed a ball of blue fire in her right hand and hurled it at the Cadet beneath her. Then, she formed one in her left hand and did the same. She did that again, and again, and again until the Cadet beneath her stopped fighting back.
Seiji was dumbfounded. He’d never pegged Cora as the murderous type, but he supposed people could always change. There were no rules against killing in the System Ceremony or the fliers for this Bond Event, after all.
“She’s fine. Melia’s a strong girl.” Cora said, reading Seiji’s stunned expression. Before he could respond, she nodded to the Servant doing his best to sneak away.
“Your turn.”
“Oh… right,” Seiji stammered. He was an assassin. Ex-assassin, but still trained to be adaptable. There was no reason for him to be so slow-witted. Therefore, he decided to take his frustrations out on the unfortunate Servant sneaking away.
Seiji kicked off with Dragon Fury and landed a fist of blue fire directly into the Servant’s stomach. The man coughed as he bent forward, leaving him exposed to an overhand punch powered by Dragon Fury. As the Servant awkwardly fell to the ground, Seiji knew he wouldn’t be getting up for a long while.
“Done!” Seiji shouted, turning to Cora.
Cora approached, reaching down to the basket the boy carried. Rather than take the basket, she took out one of the fruits inside. When she stood, she took a bite.
“Aura fruits,” She said. “They replenish your aura. I’m pretty sure the vegetables are iron vegetables, so they’re good for the body. You’ll probably need some depending on how long this takes.” She reached down again, tossing a peach to Seiji. He caught it and took a bite. It was like sinking into a hot bath on a cold day. He could feel the aura coursing through his body, and Seiji allowed it easily.
“Unacceptable!” A voice sounded from around the Garden. “Not only did you two steal my fruits, but now you’re eating them?! What do you have to say for yourself!”
A black ball appeared before Cora and Seiji. Upon seeing it, Cora immediately fixed her posture and waved, though Seiji didn’t understand why. Though he didn’t know what the right thing to say was, he considered Cora’s current demeanor as he considered his words. He didn’t want to embarrass her again.
“We’re… uh… fighting for the honor of… well…”
“We will be waiting before the gazebo at the northern end of the Grand Garden. If you wish for extra rewards, you will need to earn them.” Cora straightened her posture once again before giving a gentle curtsy. “Should you not pursue us within the next three minutes, we will pursue you, so please plan accordingly. Thank you.”
Children booed loudly in Seiji’s ear, and Seiji could finally recognize it as coming from the black ball. Endora, meanwhile, said nothing. Instead, one of the children spoke.
“They’re gonna beat you up, Lady Cora! Stop letting that scary guy control you!”
“They are welcome to try,” Cora responded. “Though they will not win. Also,” She placed a hand on Seiji’s shoulder. “What kind of Valkyrie would I be if I didn’t have a scary Servant?”
“You’re too cool for that new guy! Get away from her, hyena!”
“Wolfboy!”
“We’ll save you, Lady Cora!”
“Jerk!”
Why are they mad at me? We’re both wanted!
The black ball disappeared before Seiji could retort, leaving Seiji with Cora.
“Well, now we have a real target on our backs.” She picked up the two empty baskets on the ground beside them. “Beat them, take their fruit if they have any, eat fast, then get ready for the next fight. We’re going to be the only team passing. You ready?”
“Sure,” Seiji said. “It’s just… why do they hate me?”
Cora stared at him for a moment, before bursting into laughter.
Seiji slumped.