".....I should have never come here." Claire thought to herself.
The girl with long straight brown hair ran through the alleys that made up Fuhren, leaping on buildings or through the streets whenever she met a dead end. The ragged and worn-out dark brown mantle riddled with holes did very little to hide her features. However, she did not dare to stop for even a second, fearing she'd be caught by the adventurers and knights that found out her identity after immediately stepping foot off the carriage.
'I must've been set up! Was it David?..... Nah, he's too spineless to do something like that. The moment I was confronted he knew he would be a target. That means it must've been one of the other merchants, or perhaps one of the adventurers guarding the caravan….. Was it while I was eating? I did indeed take off my mask at the moment, did they identify me then and let out a messenger on their own into the night…?"
Claire questioned the 'coincidental' turn of events. To her, it seemed as though every knight and adventurer in the city was awaiting her in the city. Unbeknownst to her, the same day she committed her execution the kingdom set a bounty on her head for all to claim. And to her misfortune, it would be one of the adventurers at the time who connected her face with the bounty sheet before going to Fuhren beforehand to gather his buddies.
As the target was a high-value criminal set by the Kingdom, this adventurer did not want to risk taking her on alone. Riding into the night with very little rest to make sure he and his comrades had enough time to prepare for her arrival. From there word of her travel to Fuhren spread like wildfire after one of the adventurers blabbered about it while drunk. Now every adventurer, bodyguard, and knight wanted her head.
It had only been half an hour since her arrival and she already mustered up quite the attention. Outrunning her foes wasn't an option, as every turn led to more. There was also the matter of her stamina, she couldn't run forever. Mana-wise it was taking everything in her to defend herself from the onslaught of mostly fire and wind spells. At this rate, she knew she would end up getting caught and killed.
WHOOSH! DING!
She bisected an arrow with one of the daggers Ivan had gifted her. Its body splitting apart and going around her instead of ahead. However, that moment she stopped to deflect the incoming arrow she left her back wide open for a fireball.
"Grrrgh!" Claire gritted her teeth in pain before running away again, taking labored breaths before diving into a dark alley. She shakily dug her hands into her satchel before pulling out a red vial, she uncorked it and downed it in almost an instant. Letting out a sigh of relief as she leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes.
"There she is!"
But even that peace only lasted for a few seconds. A mob of adventurers swarmed the alley. Seeing this Claire didn't panic, instead, she skillfully climbed on anything protruding from the walls of the alley before appearing once more on some buildings. The chase was on again. Claire let out another sigh, this time filled with sorrow.
Her stash of Ivan's potions were running low, by then the only thing she would have to remember him by was the glasses he gave her and the daggers. A weird concern for someone who was likely going to die today, something she understood.
CLANG!
An adventurer shot out of one of the alleys she was leaping for, their blades tangling before each was rebounded by their own attack. Seeing this man ask for a duel in the name of chivalry, Claire only snuck one of her hands to her thighs. She knew that there was no reason for her to have some bout of honor right now, it was likely that this whole duel was just a distraction until his reinforcements arrived.
It was at that moment when the man was distracted by her slightest display at skin that the same hand that dug into her clothes swiftly pulled out and flung several needles that carried enough strength to break the air. She nodded in satisfaction as the man fell over with blood dripping from both eyes, his face as prickly as a porcupine.
"Jimmy!" However, that moment of satisfaction was broken when she heard the cry of another person. A girl clad in mage robes shot out a flurry of weak but large fireballs. Unfortunately for her, the tears in her eyes were not doing her any favors regarding the accuracy of her attacks. Claire bisected each fireball as they exploded into steam, using the cover to close the gap and pierce the mage girl in the throat with her dagger.
Claire stared back at the hatred-fueled eyes as they lost color, mourning for this girl in her own way as she delicately laid down her body. She traced the ring on the girl's finger before matching it up to the man's, sighing as she heard the clamor of other enemies make their way.
"We found her!"
"Tch! It looks like she murdered even more people. Hmph, what we're doing here today is perhaps a service to the world~"
"Burn the heretic! Burn!"
If she was going to escape this situation then running around aimlessly in hopes of losing her pursuers wasn't going to work. She picked up the mage girl's corpse and hung it over her shoulder, ignoring the yells of her pursuers as she ran off as fast as she could while carrying a body.
This time she wasn't fired at with a volley of spells, as it would seem that the adventurers had reservations about potentially harming the corpse of the mage girl. Though those same concerns didn't apply to the fervent believers of the Church and those who desperately wanted the reward. But in the end the number of magic attacks flung at her reduced by a significant amount, a result she was happy to take advantage of.
All she needed to do now was create enough distance to allow her the time she needed to change into the mage's robes. Even if it was for a few minutes what she wanted the second most at the moment was just some time to rest her body.
BOOM!
The tiles beneath her feet exploded as she was sent flying, the body on her shoulder flying in a different direction before becoming mangled as it hit the floor. "Grh…" Claire grunted aloud as she pulled herself up, supporting her against a wall as she let out labored breaths.
"Gehehehe~! How do you like the taste of my Artillery? Welllll, was it a BLAST? Gahahahah!" A bald old man with a scruffy white beard peered over the building she was leaning against. A bow in his hand as he notched an arrow, the only eye-catching thing being that at the very end of the arrow was a large cylinder accompanied by a fuse.
The old man brought a lit match to the fuse, its flame tracing upwards before making it to the cylinder. Claire had a very foreboding sense in her body as the arrow was aimed toward her, the onlooking audience of civilians and merchants looking on curiously not realizing their impending demise.
"EVERYONE! GET AW—!"
BOOM!!!
Her words were cut off as the exploding arrow hit the ground at her feet, she failed to bisect the arrow before the impact, her body still damaged from the last impact. Claire's vision hazed as she felt for a moment she lost consciousness. However, it was when she broke out of that daze she remembered the situation she was in, concern filled her face as she trudged through the surrounding rubble.
"I-Is anyone alive?! Please, answer me!" Guilt tangled her heart as she realized that it may have been her own doing that led to this catastrophe. Pools of blood seeped from the surrounding carnage, not a sound to be heard as the ashes in the air distorted her vision. The buzzing noise in her ears grew ever so faintly as she stood silently.
'Ah….. maybe I should have just died back there in the Kingdom… Then I wouldn't have endangered anyone else's life. Hmph, who was I to think that I could just get away and live my life as if everything was normal? Maaaa… What a fool I was…'
WHOOOSH!
Figures shot out of the smoke created from the fires, armed to the teeth with their weapons and spells as they charged toward Claire. Seeing this, Claire only unsheathed both of her daggers. Not taking a single step back as she accepted her fate here. A guilt-ridden but fearless smile adorned her face as tears pooled in her eyes.
'Ah... So this is Fuhren huh, I really wanted to see the place that Ivan talked so much about… Sorry, Ivan… I'll see you soon…'
"GRAAAHHH!" She charged forward with a roar, meeting the swarm of blades and lights head-on.
CLANG! BANG! SLASH!
Claire ignored the damage done to her body, using the smoke from the fires to cause disarray within the group. Hacking the necks of her enemies, she became a ghost that was as silent as the smoke itself. She disregarded healing completely, even leaving the spears and arrows dug into her back as she charged forward.
The thumping in her heart became louder, the smoke dissipated as a few mages cast wind spells. This time, she was totally surrounded.
"S-Surrender now! For the crimes, you've committed, come in peacefully so that you may repent!... Or else, we shall be forced to take action here…"
Claire only smiled in response to the knight's words, lowering her posture as she readied herself for the next challenge.
"..... Very well… Then at the hand of us knights, you shall die here today… Men, charge forward!"
Their enclosing tightened with each step forward, beads of sweat dripping from each man's face as they approached the 'ghost.' Claire listened contently to the sound of their unsteady steps, a calming smile forming on her face as she rested her eyes one last time.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
However those footsteps were broken as the only thing that emanated to her ears was a loud whirring noise, strong winds blew her hair in disarray that seemed to be coming from above her. She opened her eyes slowly before noticing a figure blocking the sun. Claire turned her head up steadily to meet whatever had disturbed her end.
"A-A monster!" The knights cried out.
A large metallic beast-like contraption hovered in the air, its body the size of a house. It took on the appearance of a bird with a funny-looking beak at the end. Then, a hatch at the belly of the metallic beast opened up, light pouring out as a rope descended from it and hovered right above Claire.
She stared at it for a second before looking back at the metal flying thing. Right when she was about to decline the thing's offer in favor of dying here with her sins she heard a familiar voice permeate from the thing.
"Just get in, Claire. The stares of these people are making me uncomfortable… Or are you perhaps into that sort of thing? Sorry if that's the case, but on the bright side I have a companion you might share similar interests with. Don't worry, I can assure you she is a bonafide pervert~!"
Claire looked at the thing with a stupefied expression, oh how she longed to hear that voice, and here it was again. His tone was the same, his way of talking, it was almost as if she were hit with a wave of nostalgia just from listening to it.
"U-Um, so are you just going to stand there…? As much as I'm willing to fight these guys if they're troubling you I'd like to get my tools ready beforehand. Hm… I'm probably never going to be able to use this thing outside again huh… Unless I'm looking for trouble I guess…"
Claire snapped out of her daze when she realized that everything that happened in the past two minutes was real. She hurriedly grabbed onto the rope while ignoring the yelps of the nights, shimmering up it quickly as she raced to really confirm what was inside.
"F-Fire!"
The mages that had their concentration broken from this development woke up and hurled the spells they had been holding in, barraging the climbing Claire with fireballs and other ranged attacks. However, to their dismay, their attacks bounced back at them as a bubble-like forcefield enveloped both Claire and the airship.
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It was when she entered the airship that Claire put her guard back up. Instead of the face, she was expecting she was met with three unfamiliar women. A short blonde girl, a black-haired girl in a kimono, and a tanned girl with green eyes. Each surrounding her with a vigilant expression. That was when she heard footsteps emulate from behind a metal door that she assumed led to the head of the machine.
TAP TAP TAP
The beating in her heart grew with every step. She didn't even notice the blonde girl sigh as the three of them dropped their vigilance. The large metal door whirred out steam before opening up, an effect more so made by Ivan just for dramatic situations like this.
Two figures came out of the steam, a beastman girl with white long hair and some black bits, a black and white tail with animal ears sitting atop her head. She sat on the man's back with her arms tangled around his neck. Now the man is what she focused her attention on, a white mask covering his features and a white mantle hiding everything else.
Despite not being able to see through his disguise as anything other than a weirdo, she took a step closer as the thumping of her heart grew stronger. "I-Ivan…?" She muttered softly. Her voice was so delicate it would've been impossible to hear if anyone in the room had been talking. The three girls looked at each other before heading to the door Ivan came frum, Yue forcefully pulling Felis off of Ivan's back.
Now that the two were left alone in the loading dock, an awkward silence permeated throughout the room.
"Um… Hey, ah. It's been a while huh…" The voice changer was not activated as Ivan spoke words that would usually make a situation like this even more awkward.
"...Yes, it's truly been a while, Ivan…" Claire spoke those words as she approached him, resting her palms on his mask before gently skiing it off of his face. His dirty blonde hair, his deep blue eyes, the only difference being the little scuffle of blonde hair that stood from his chin. Other than that, he was exactly the same as back then.
She wrapped him in a strong hug, a hug that threatened to break his body. But despite that Ivan only gently brushed her hair, listening to her sobbing as her shoulders shook. Once again, his mantle had become the comfort to someone's tears. The area became silent again as the two just embraced each other without a word And then, the doors opened again to their surprise.
"Hey, Father! When are goi– Oh… um, sorry for disturbing you?" The doors closed again swiftly as Felis apologized for barging in on the scene, she had walked in assuming they were already done with their reunion.
"... Did she say 'father'?"
"... I suppose I have a lot to tell you huh…"
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"Eh?"
That was Claire's only response after having been told of his fake death, a journey, games of the gods, Ivan's business, and his meeting with the class which led to him looking for her. Ivan could only sigh to himself as the list of stuff he had to explain when meeting someone again had grown exponentially.
"To put it simply, I am an ex-hero, dungeon capturer, businessman, and probably now heretic of the Holy Church." Ivan's light way of putting things only alleviated some of her thoughts, but right now all that mattered was that he made up for the hell that he put her through since his 'death.'
At least that's what he inferred after staring into her gleaming maroon eyes.
"Make me a part of your team." There it was.
"Honestly how can that even begin as my apology to you? Your everyday life has been destroyed, your friends and family probably resent you, the Holy Church and Kingdom want you dead. And to make up for it all you just want to join my team?"
"No, of course not! I'm merely fulfilling my duties as your maid and assistant. As my master it is my job to make sure you don't do anything stupid again, so to make sure of that I'm going to be keeping an eye on you forever."
"F-Forever…?" Ivan sweated a bit hearing that last bit.
"Umu, so what I'm asking of you is to allow me to resume my duties as your maid." Claire reached for her satchel before pulling out an ornate and pristine case that was about as thick as her arm and made of wood.
She pulled an object out of the case before stuffing it back in her satchel, then she opened the object and put it on the bridge of her nose. Propping it up slightly as she readjusted it to perfectly sit.
"Claire Von Dilort at your service, master! I was the maid assigned to you by the king of the Heiligh Kingdom, however now I am your exclusive maid. I am looking forward to working with you!"
Ivan smiled softly as he looked at the glasses that sat on her pretty nose, in perfect condition just like the day they met.
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God my head hurt a ton while writing this, probably because of work yesterday but I got to head in today as well. Going to eat breakfast right now before I head off, I hope the reunion between the two was at least satisfying to some of you. Other than that I want to thank you for reading this far.
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