Stahlia 17 Years Old, Eighth Month of 949

The inside of the guild was clean and tidy, though devoid of any people save for the singular receptionist.

“Franklin, please introduce me to the receptionist? These things tend to work easier with an introduction.”

Considering I have him here, I may as well have him handle that… I still need to figure out how to go about this… I mean, Franklin will discover that Stahlia is Stahlia von Drakas sooner or later. But… I’m a bit reluctant to tell him that I’m also George…

It was incredibly cliché, and Claire would probably lose her shit, but Franklin had been one of George’s only friends. Something that made me reticent actually to tell him the truth.

And then that would also be akin to telling him that I’ve gotten married as well… As cliché as it is, I’m not going to tell him. I’ll introduce Claire and let her tell him.

Doing things that way would absolve me of responsibility, hopefully making it an easier pill to swallow. Franklin didn’t say anything, but he still approached the receptionist. Since I was the party to be introduced, I stepped out from behind my knights and adopted a neutral stance; not too haughty, but also a bit unapproachable.

She spoke first, and curiously, she seemed a bit irritated by his presence, “Franklin, Ulna said you had already stepped by this morning, yet here you are… And this is?”

Frankly beautifully ignored her mannerisms, but from behind me, I felt the atmosphere grow a bit tense. Unless I did something, my knights wouldn’t act, but the babysitters might have been under orders to make sure nobody mistreated me… Though this woman did have certain immunities while on duty, they did not extend to after she left work.

“Miss Betty, this is Lady Stahlia von Alriss; I happened upon her party by chance, and she requested I guide them to the guild hall. Lady Stahlia, this is Betty, a receptionist of the Adventurer’s Guild Zesten Branch.”

“I see…” She seemed a bit uncertain now; it was likely that the realization that the rest of us were foreign nobles was clashing with whatever animosity Franklin had garnered for himself.

It would be good to interject here and take control of the conversation. There’s no need for me to repeat the introduction, so be satisfied with a curtsy.

I smiled at her, “Betty, was it? Is the guild master in? I would like to speak with him regarding the disappearances.”

When I curtsied, she had adopted a smile, but at the mention of the disappearances, that vanished, “Franklin, we have told you and Taya numerous times; the guild is not-”

Yea, no.

“Aaron asked me to deal with it on my way through.” Whatever feelings of affability I had towards her had seemingly vanished. Instead, her ill-informed manner of disregarding me was simply irritating. At my sudden shift, the receptionist likewise changed; her eyes widened, and her face turned a bit pale.

Yea, that’s right; you didn’t know who you were dealing with. Now get out of my way.

“The Guildmaster’s office is on the second floor; I will let him know you are on your way up.” She performed a professional business bow and then indicated an open staircase to the right of the counter.

I returned her bow with a fairly deep curtsy, such that it could be taken as slightly condescending, “Thank you very much, and I will bring Franklin along with me as an involved party.” I looked back over my shoulder, “Lord Alriss, please accompany me, and have the knights stand guard at the foot of the stairs and outside the door.”

As for the babysitters, I did not really care what they did. Lord Alriss quickly made the necessary arrangements, then waited by the foot of the stairs.

Ah, Franklin probably doesn’t realize.

“After you, Franklin.” I fixed him with a deadpan stare; Lord Alriss would not let this nominal outsider walk up the stairs between us and would certainly not let him bring up the rear. It took him a moment, but Franklin soon realized the issue and bowed before practically dashing to the stairs. Fortunately, he slowed down once he arrived and began to climb them naturally.

…That was an impressive degree of speed just then.

Lord Alriss hesitated for a brief moment, then began to climb the stairs after Franklin. For my part, I brought up the rear a moment later and heard the knights take up a post behind me. The second floor of the guild was surprisingly small. At least, the portion accessible from this staircase was; as far as I could tell, the building was split into two disconnected second floors. The one we were on was probably for the staff or official business only, while the other half was for more general use.

There were only three doors at the top of the stairs, each clearly labeled. There was the ‘Staffroom,’ ‘Records,’ and ‘Office.’ Franklin and Lord Alriss, the former appearing surprisingly nervous, were waiting for me at the third door. I gave Lord Alriss a nod, and he knocked on the door. It might have been more appropriate for Franklin to do that, as he was the lowest ranking. However, Lord Alriss’s job was to protect me in this instance. Not that I had any suspicions the guild master would try and harm me.

“Come in.” A deep, rather refined voice came from inside the room.

When the door swung open without anyone touching it to reveal a man sitting behind a wooden desk. His appearance sent a chill down my back; he was withered and emaciated. His eyes were sunken and obscured by shadow, while his nose was flat against his head. Without being able to help it, I flinched backward.

“My lady?” Alriss questioned me.

Wait, can you not see that?

“Your majesty, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I trust that the odd kitten delivered my message?” His voice was now somewhat raspy to my ear, though with a few traces of the earlier dignity. And like his appearance, neither of my companions showed any indication that anything was awry.

…And well, I guess the cat is out of the bag; he instantly recognized who I was.

“Lord Alriss, hold Franklin.” With that order given, I cut off the mana flow to my ring, thereby undoing my disguise; obviously, the guild master was aware of my identity. Given his own appearance, he was probably one of the higher monsters Aaron had mentioned, and it would therefore be rude to keep up my charade just because of Franklin, “There. Please allow me to introduce myself; I am the Champion of Autumn, Queen Stahlia von Drakas und zu Ris. This is Count Alriss, and the wide-eyed boy is Franklin; I suspect one of the other three.”

The guild master stood from behind his desk and bowed in a style I was not familiar with, “Then, I shall return thy favor. I am Palde von Strauf, a Vampire Lord and the loyal servant of the thirteenth; a thousand years ago, I was also in the party of your namesake… Do I forget anything…? Oh yes, for dinner last night, I had Miss Betty.”

He punctuated his last quip with a wink. Contrary to what one might assume, the revelation that he was a Vampire did not really scare me. After all, he was working for the adventurer’s guild, which meant that Aaron trusted him. It also explained his appearance and why neither Franklin nor Lord Alriss noticed; he was most likely using a sort of illusion similar to mine. As for why I could see through it, there were many possibilities, but the most likely was my mana crystal and how it made me part monster myself. Or it could be my [Rulebreaker] Skill or something with my Authority. The only thing it certainly wasn’t was my divine eyes since I wasn’t using them at the moment.

I’m… not sure why that last part is relevant. Maybe he’s trying to tell me that he doesn’t kill people? If he’s working for Aaron directly, that much would already have been obvious, though… That aside, his name is Drakan. Though that house no longer exists… Or I don’t remember it. Damnit! I should have found a way to bring Sasha.

“…Then, I suppose that makes you something like my very, very distant Uncle. Please, call me by name.” His general demeanor was rather friendly, and if he was connected to one of the champions of the last war, then we did share a superficial connection. The Champion Ris, who had founded Ris village, and whose name was now held by my father. There was also our more direct connection, that is to say, our mana crystals.

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“Lady Stahlia, then. Forgive my insistence; I shan’t think to drop all formalities from such a flimsy connection as that.”

To his credit, Franklin seemed to be taken everything rather well. Or it might be the weight of Lord Alriss's hand gripping his shoulder holding him in check. At my nod, he was released and immediately dropped to his knees, “Ah, Uhm, my apologies, your majesty… I-”

“Stop that. You are not at fault for not realizing my identity. There you have it, Lord Palde, two of the champions to help deal with your demon problem. I trust that us moving now will not be viewed as cheating? After all, they moved first.”

Franklin shut his mouth and swallowed dryly.

Ugh. Having him groveling like that… No, just no. Especially…

Especially not when he was bound to learn about me being his old friend. At Palde’s behest, everyone took a seat, though Lord Alriss elected to remain standing near the door.

Our host began, “If that is true, then it is most excellent. That said, pray tell; how do you know this lad is one of the chosen heroes?” His question slapped me in the forehead like a bucket of ice water.

The only reason I thought that was that it made sense, given everything I knew. Adroni would most definitely find it amusing, and tying my old friend into the war provided even more insurance that I would be sure to take part in. It was only lucky, in my mind, that he would show up as a human and not as a member of the demon’s side. Having my friends and family split like that… Doubt crept suddenly into my mind; he was a champion, right?

I could easily appraise him and learn the truth; even if the Champion skills had an effect hiding them from appraisal, my Authority could override and display them anyway.

…But that’s still only answering the question after the fact. I need a legitimate reason for why I know it already.

Then, someone’s familiar voice chimed, “Because I know who he is, and I told her.”

There was Felicity, sitting on the couch to my left. Against my instructions. As for how she had gotten here, that much was obvious; she had been hiding in my shadow. She fixed me with a rather contemptuous look, demonstrating that it was Claire in full control and not Felicity, “After all, I recognize him from my own past life.”

You little!

Claire had been in my shadow the whole day. The fact that I had not realized she was in it was one thing. But the primary issue was something else; she knew I had not told Franklin about me being George and had just used a line that precluded that knowledge. She might have only done that due to the present company, but I didn’t think that was the case. Especially not given her expression, and that being here was her blatantly calling my bluff.

…We need to have another chat about all this. There’s also the fact that she’s currently controlling Felicity, and probably hasn’t stopped since she started yesterday, but more importantly, she’s gone right back to where the fucking demon tried to kidnap her! She might be safe if she’s with me, but still! If she’s going to do that, then she doesn’t have any ground to stand on.

I was fuming, but the sudden appearance of the two-tails caused Lord Alriss to grab his sword, though he promptly released it upon realizing who the intruder was. Even still, he continued to watch her very closely and could not fully hide how unsettled he was. Franklin, on the other hand, nearly leaped out of his seat. Palde… Seemed to have already known she was here, which caused me to elevate my own level of wariness toward him.

A moment of tense inaction passed, during which Franklin recovered from his surprise, “Who are you? …George?”

And he immediately assumes that Felicity is me!?

“Ha. No. I’m Claire, sort of. How long has it been for you?”

So she really isn’t going to tell him. Fine.

Franklin paused, inhaled deeply, pinched the bridge of his nose, and exhaled, “About ten days. And, I am the Champion of Summer, supposedly.”

Claire nodded and flicked her tails, “I thought so; it seems like some timey whimmy stuff might be involved. For me, it’s been nearly ten years; I grew up in this body, more or less.”

…Alright. Being angry gets me nothing and nowhere. I’ll address all of this later.

Lord Alriss was right there, not to mention Lord Palde, so I first moved to shush Felicity before she started saying things that they shouldn’t hear, “We can handle the reunion later. For now, Palde, what can you tell us about this Eris?”

The Vampire fell silent, staring at Felicity’s tails rather intently, “…Are you not yourself a champion? Your kind does not normally develop such abnormalities… No matter. Eris is one of Leviathan’s closest companions and an Original Sin of Envy. Dealing with her is not the issue; finding her will pose the biggest challenge.”

Oh? I thought those tails resulted from her class and skill changes triggering a physical evolution, like with Stil; a Nekomata is a cat demon, after all.

Whatever he was alluding to about Felicity would have to wait. I wanted to question it, but dealing with Eris was a far bigger and more immediate issue. As it turned out, Eris was actually something of a pushover. Unlike Felicity, she could not copy skills. According to Palde, Eris represented a different flavor of Envy; her skill made her essentially invisible.

“You would notice her and be able to talk and interact, but the moment you take your eyes off her, all memories of her appearance, mannerisms, and even existence would be gone. That we can even have this conversation now is only due to our unique natures interfering with the effect of her skill. But that protection is not absolute.” Sitting back, he produced a glass filled with what I hoped was wine and sipped it slowly.

“So you see, Franklin, it is not that the guild has ignored the disappearances, nor is it that there are no witnesses or evidence. Rather, it is a fact that, to my knowledge, I was the only one capable of fathoming what was going on. Had I been aware of thine own nature as the fool, I would have approached you.”

There was a lull wherein we digested what we had just been told. From the sounds of it, Felicity probably remembered her own encounter by virtue of being a Demon of Envy herself. Franklin’s champion status was partially shielding him, and any of my abilities could be serving to protect me. Lord Alriss, though, had no such protections.

“Lord Alriss, what have we been discussing the past half hour?” I asked him, earning myself a satisfied nod from Palde.

“The Demon of Envy, Eris. Rest assured, your majesty, I do recall what we have been told… Though perhaps I do not recall the entirety?”

“No, I believe that you do. Since you were told about her but did not meet her directly. A certain degree of separation. That said, thou shant be useful in hunting her down.” At Palde’s assurance and retort, Alriss grimaced but did not argue the point.

So Franklin doesn’t need anything to help him in this instance, or myself for that matter. But, by the sound of it, we’re both going to remember her like Felicity and Claire could.

“…The fool?” Franklin, it seemed, had a different item of focus as he spoke up for the first time since Claire revealed herself.

I was a bit curious about that as well…

Palde fixed him with a long, hard stare, his eyes seeming to pierce through Franklin to his core, “Yes, the fool; that is what you are. Your ladyship is well aware of the so-called ‘cursed champion?’” After receiving a short nod from me, he continued, “Then, as someone who knows the truth, it should be no surprise that Winter is not the only one. Actually, one could argue that in their own way, all of you are ‘cursed.’”

Well, thanks for answering me, but I wasn’t the one with the question… He’s probably pushing me any of Franklin’s future questions by implying that I have the same knowledge… asshole.

“Winter is cursed to become inhuman. Summer is typically cursed by its very nature, an otherworlder pulled into the cycle to act as a wild card. Their head filled with delusions and false promises. Ergo, they are the fool.”

Franklin, somewhat surprisingly, did not protest this assertion. Instead, he balled his fists and grimaced, “Yea, that makes sense.”

After giving everyone a moment, I tentatively asked a question that had suddenly become extremely front and center in my mind, “And what am I?”

What is Rosial?

Palde gave me a similarly intense stare as he had Franklin; near the door, Alriss shifted uncomfortably. Finally, he answered, “The Champion of Autumn can never die. Wither, age, and rot away, but they are forever bound to life. Congratulations, like an undead, thou art immortal.”

That… That is not what I wanted to hear.

“Now, shall we discuss how to cast the net to catch an invisible fish?” Unlike Franklin, Palde did not give me even a moment to fully process before moving on. But while he spoke, he kept his eyes locked with my own. He knew I had lied about being the Champion of Autumn by way of Aaron. So he likewise probably knew about Rosial and was not going to give me a chance to stew in my newfound internal conflict.

“…Yes, let us.”

And so, over the next half an hour, the beginning of a plan was made, the first stage of which would occur tomorrow when Stahlia von Drakas entered Zesten in the parade. Though doing so did not improve my mood. Still newly angered, I redonned my ring and exited the adventurer’s guild with my entourage, plus Franklin and a disobedient kitten.

“Franklin… We plan on staying the night at an inn,” I shot a look at one of the babysitters, who promptly informed me of the name, “…Please fetch this Taya and whomever you were intending to meet, then join us there. I think that you and Claire would like to chat. …And there are some things that I need to tell you as well.”

“The Starling!? That place is-”

“Expensive, I am sure. Now, go, please.”

Cutting him off, I fell back into my own head. My thoughts were rather tumultuous, to say the least.

…Taking away Rosial’s champion skill would be the easiest way to fix that problem. …But I don’t know the consequences, so I can’t risk it; what if the gods strike her down or something? Not to mention how much it would hurt her. No, using my Authority like that isn’t an option… Then, Claire. I need to apologize to her, especially now that she’s called my bluff… But I don’t want to give her any leverage over me… And Franklin… Where do I even begin with that one? He doesn’t know about George. Claire definitely isn’t going to tell him for me, meaning I’ll have to do it myself.

“Yo!” I looked up at the sudden voice and saw a woman whose appearance was utterly average and unassuming in every way, “My name’s Eris. Mind if we talk for a bit?”

She grinned at me.