Beta read by Shigiya and DOOMRAIDER.
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-Ken-
"So this is the place?"
After a few hours of taking care of Maia and basically giving her a sponge bath, while the poor blushing redhead failed to act nonchalant throughout the ordeal—Archer decided to pay a visit to a local pub recommended by the guards he met at the entrance of Ken.
"Roasting Pig," he said while looking at the establishment, which seemed to have a full house if the noise coming from it was any indication.
He didn't ask Maia about her ability to suddenly grow stronger in the middle of the fight and what exactly her blessing was, choosing to question her at another time.
Instead, he asked her to pass on a message to the other Knights to not detain him on sight when he would roam around Ken. Knowing how the Knights in general were warry of him, going as far as to hate him, Archer didn't put past them to bring out their sword over the slightest mistake. Even after seeing his prowess against Maia, some people were just too boneheaded to convince. The Queen of Mercenaries understood his reasoning and accepted on two conditions.
Cook her the food she wanted and to bring with him one of her Knights as he traveled around the Kingdom.
He declined the first part, the bowman wouldn't be staying by her side for long. Archer would use her till he arrived in Feoh and finish off his mission for good. Though he did agree to share his own meal in case he cooked too much, as he needed to eat now that Archer wasn't a Servant and being able to sustain himself through Magical Energy alone.
Archer looked to his side to see Brynn, who accompanied him as his Passepartout and, in his opinion, an unnecessary bodyguard. The notion baffled the bowman and made him again suspicious if Maia didn't get any brain damage from the fight to make such a demand.
But she remained stubborn, stating that out of everyone, Brynn being be the only one who would never turn her back on him and would follow her orders to the letter, unlike some.
There was also another reason why she was willing to follow him around.
"Yes, this is the place you asked for, Master!"
Hugh, again with that...
"Hugh, can you not call me that? I just agreed to help you out a bit with your swordsmanship. Never have I said that I'll become your master, teacher, or anything of the sort." he said, trying to keep his growing headache at bay.
After the fight, Brynn volunteered to watch over him. Back then, he was still recovering from accidentally going all out on Maia at the end and the fact that she managed to make him bleed.
(Flashback)
"I'm sorry, I broke your sword."
Giving her back the handle of what used to be an above-average forged sword, Archer couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about the situation.
It was one thing to destroy his own swords, but it became another when the swords belong to someone else.
He entertained the idea of just tracing one. Not like Brynn would find it weird since she saw him using his magecraft back at the village. But the fact that he could recreate the copy of a sword as many times as he wanted was a rather important piece of information. One that he would still like to keep up his sleeve as a trump card.
Brynn took the handle, looking over the damages. She proceeded to just throw away the handle like garbage.
A part of Archer felt a bit insulted for the sword from her callous action.
"Doesn't matter. I can request for another one to be made for me soon enough. And I barely used it, so I don't feel as close to it as my old one."
Even after getting promoted to a commander under Maia's authority, Brynn still kept her old possessions, like her previous armor and sword, in her quarters. She used them to fight against the Dark Queen's armies on many occasions, and they saved her life quite a few times.
"I have a request," she asked, looking Archer right in his eyes, the fire of determination in her eyes.
"No."
He immediately denied before even listening what she had to say.
"You didn't even hear me out!"
He didn't need to. Whatever it was, he can already guess that it would be a pain in the ass to deal with.
"Please, I helped you out with planning a meet-up between you and Maia-sama. Normal prisoners wouldn't even get the chance to speak to the warden, let alone the Queen of Mercenaries. It won't cost you anything just to listen for a few seconds, and the request itself is quite simple." she continued with her endeavor, making the man in front of her sigh.
"You won't give up even if I say no, will you?" he stated with confidence.
There was a pattern with the girls who tried to associate themselves with him. No matter the time, the setting, and the world, they all possessed the aspect of being annoyingly stubborn to the core. There was no persuading such brick-headed people. They could chase their goal at the end of the world and even to their deaths. He would know. Archer used to be such an individual as well.
He sighed
It wouldn't hurt just to listen what she had to say.
"What do you want?"
"Please teach me the way of the sword!"
"No."
"Please, you at least owe me this!"
"No, I don't." Archer wasn't looking to take in a disciple at any point in his life.
"Please!" Brynn kneeled in front of him, her head touching the ground. "I don't want to learn your magic, I'm not asking to take me in as your official disciple. Just for the time you remain with us, please teach me to improve my swordsmanship. I promise to listen to your every word, follow each of your rules and always remain loyal!"
"..."
Instead of denying once again, Archer gave her words some careful thought. Unlike Maia, Brynn wasn't asking for him to teach her about magecraft or any long term care. With the countless fighting styles he'd use in his life, Archer wasn't lacking on things to impart on Brynn—not that he wanted to. Though it wasn't like she would be able to learn anything major with these next few days or even in a month worth of time. The most she could forseably gain is polishing her pre-existing swordsmanship and nothing else. Unless she turned out to be a reincarnation of Shirou Emiya who will somehow manage to get in on his level in a few days worth of time. Which he wouldn't he wouldn't this reality our of the realm of possibility considering some of the messed up things he witnessed with his time serving Alaya.
He shook his head, wanting to no delve into such a horrifying train of thought much longer.
"Fine, but I will only teach you basic swordsmanship, and that's all. No magecraft, any particular set of skills is out of the question. If I find you going behind my back and feeding certain information to Maia or someone else—then you're out," Archer said sternly, leaving no room for discussion.
He would just entertain her for the time he traveled alongside Maia, after that, she would be on her own.
Plus, he would have another informant familiar with the army and keep him updated on what was going on.
"Yes!" Brynn replied without hesitation, the joy in her voice being evident.
"And this will only be for a few days. I have other matters to attend to and don't have the time nor desire to babysit you for months and years."
Not to mention the possibility that she might become his enemy after he killed the Kuroinu group. Heck, Maia would probably become the first one to bring down her sword on him with killing intent.
"Naturally," she answered quickly. "I am a quick learner."
That remained to be seen.
(Flashback end)
{Break}
Before entering the pub, he had one more question for Brynn.
"Why did you think learning from me would be a good idea? I know little of your country's system, but from the books I've read, isn't my magic considered dark or evil by your standards? After all, it isn't associated with Celestine in the slightest. Heck, I even remember you and your subordinates looking at me with hostility when I saved you all back in the village."
A point of curiosity that has been bugging him for a while.
Why did no one accuse him of being in line with the enemy with his obviously unknown magic? He honestly expected a line of priests and bishops to arrive in front of him and demand his execution or to burn him to a stake like Jeanne d'Arc.
Not that they would have been able to, but still.
It was a pain to deal with holier than thou priests.
"Because Maia-sama confirmed you weren't using heretical magic."
Wow, credit where credit was due, the redhead sure was efficient this time.
"Not the Church of Lucross?"
Brynn shook her head, "No, right after arriving here, I paid a visit to father Malcolm and asked him if your magic was of dark nature. After describing everything that happened, the lack of conventional chants, spells that were never heard off and the destructive nature—they did label you as an evil being before I even finished the explanation of your actions."
'Wow, how surprising.' thought Archer sarcastically, having heard the same song and dance before during his work as a Counter Guardian.
Especially the secluded tribes or isolated cults who labelled him as a devil's spawn or an evil magic user. The same ones who practiced a form of formalcraft and sacrificed human lives in order to get in contact with ancient misteries.
"And the reason why I'm walking freely on the streets is because…"
"Because the people of Ken and the Knights believe in the Princess Knight more than the Church. Not that there aren't people with different beliefs, but that is how most of the people in Ken are. Not to mention, your presence here and the battle against Maia hasn't reached the officials' ears yet. But things might happen in the future when the word spreads."
Oh joy, Archer certainly looked forward to dealing with the zealots type of people. They were always the most fun to deal with.
He just hoped to not meet them any time soon.
"And what about the people I killed previously? The ones you blew a fuse for and attacked me straight on, saying 'I trusted you!' a couple of times." he used a mocking voice at the end to embarrass the Commander Knight with much success.
"I-I was shocked when I saw the scene!" she argued. "You-you just can't kill other people. It's wrong. But, after seeing how you kept your word with Maia-sama, I grew inclined to believe that you were truly innocent or at least defended yourself as you claimed."
She went quiet, a somber atmosphere surrounding her.
"Anything wrong?" he asked.
"I... I did some research on my end, and some people confirmed that those people weren't up to any good."
Incredulity and disbelief filled her voice, almost as if she found it hard to swallow such piece of news.
But she had to.
What was worse was how people kept avoiding her when she brought up the subject, looking at her with fear which hurt Brynn a bit. Her duty was to protect them, yet why did they fear her? And why did they avoid talking about anything related to the Kuroinu with her? Even when she tried talking to the guards, they either ignored her or acted ignorant with the subject.
She couldn't even rely on the other Knights as they treated her as an outcast—even though she was their superior. Even the girls who were present during the attack on Grünes had long since left and joined either Claudia's army or Alicia's. In her point of view, she was all alone surrounded by strangers who hated her.
But Brynn didn't give up, she steeled her heart and continued on.
It took her getting out of her Commander Knight uniform and blending in with the locals to hear the whispering rumors of dozens of people cheering the death of Nito and the rest. She heard about how he and his goons extorted the locals of their coins, how they would indiscriminately steal in plain daylight, all under the protection of Hicks. Some woman even admitted that she was raped by one of them and that no one came help her as they were too scared to do so. Her core beliefs about the people associated with the Kuroinu took a large hit that day.
Seeing people cry tears of joy in secret while hiding it in front of the passing Knights really made her question everything about her oaths and career.
"Shocked?" Archer asked her.
Brynn's voice lowered to a whisper, "A bit. Why would a member of the Kuroinu resort to such a course of action? They pledged to defend Eostia and the kingdom, not steal and hurt from the innocent common folk."
"It's to be expected," Archer answered, making the young woman give him a questioning look.
"When you give someone too much power, they are bound to use it for themselves. There's an old saying from my land, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Those men were given too much freedom and protection, which they used to their own advantage. This shouldn't be a surprise."
"But they swore an oath to the goddess!"
They made one of the most important promises to their Goddess Reborn, a sacred vow that should have been upheld till the end. The mere idea of breaking such a thing was unthinkable to Brynn.
"And I both make a promise and oath to your goddess to no longer be a jerk to you, but we both know that's impossible, seeing how you're stupid enough to wear such armor or rather lack of it. You people are already a lost cause in my books."
He wasn't willing to let go of that matter. These were just glorified metal plated bikinis! They offer no protection and they look ridiculous on the battlefield!
"Hey!" Brynn shouted, looking rather offended with his remark.
"See how I easily broke this so-called oath? Don't take them seriously because the people making them don't mean it in the first place. They don't care about tradition, honor, and loyalty at all. Not everything is as black and white, and the enemy is not only the Dark Queen but also the snake disguised as your allies. So be careful of those around you or to whom you associate with in the future."
"..."
Brynn didn't give him any answer, seemingly too shocked to even think of something else. A part of her wanted to believe Archer's words, but the other part, groomed with the teachings of the Church since she was a kid, fought back. An intense debate waged itself inside of her mind, and a seed of doubt planted itself in her view of the Kuroinu.
Archer saw her like that, knowing that at least she had a chance.
"I have a job for you."
Taking a piece of paper that he 'borrowed' from Maia's office, Archer prepared a simple task for his informant—Bianca. He wanted to know just how much she managed to gather from his last visit till now and he also wanted to make sure that no harm came to her.
"What is this?" Brynn couldn't help but ask.
"A note to a special girl. Her name is Bianca, she works at the Bards and the Bees. I need her service for today."
If he had more attention, he would have seen her utterly scandalized face when she looked at the note and back at him. Her face reddening slightly as she remembered just what kind of establishment this was. An establishment that offered sexual services to both men and women that entered their brothel. Just yesterday, some of her friends had invited Brynn to such a place, saying that she needed to 'loosen' up.
Naturally, she declined.
"Th-This i-is a br-brothel," she said, stuttering heavily, hoping that she was mistaken.
"A-Are you…"
Just imagining the reasoning made her question the man in front of her. Not that it wasn't uncommon for people to seek physical pleasure, especially in Ken, where people were rather open with these topics.
But she didn't expect Archer to be one of those people!
"What? I've been locked in a cell for quite a while without any sense of comfort. The next thing that happens is that I have to face a Princess Knight and then take care of her because I feel bad for throwing her through a wall. It would be logical to assume that all of this made me quite frustrated and needed to relieve some stress."
He tried his best to avoid grinning when he noticed Brynn's worsening state at her newest job. Her complexion nearly matched Maia's hair color.
He took a step towards the young girl, making the latter flinch back.
"Are you dissatisfied with my actions? Are you maybe willing to take her place? You certainly are quite beautiful and gifted in your own way. So, maybe you can offer me some extra rewards. I'll be sure to make it worth it."
The Knight Commander looked like she was about to faint. He made sure to gaze her directly in the eyes and not break eye contact.
"No!" she screamed, jumping backward like a scared rabbit.
"I-I-I-I'm fine with it! I'll drop the letter! Super easy!"
Without saying anything else, Brynn turned around and ran away as if her life depended on it. While Archer couldn't help but grin at her reaction. Some of the passersby even laughed at the interaction.
"She makes it very easy."
Coming back to matters at hand, Archer walked forward and pushed the wooden door of the Roasting pig. As he entered the pub, his nose immediately got assaulted by the heavy odor of alcohol, smoke, and meat being grilled in the back. The place was packed, people squeezing together around tables, singing songs, and drinking their mead.
People laughed, danced and bards played music of tales of young adventures embarking on a quest to defeat the Dark Queen.
A pleasant atmosphere, in his opinion.
His hood was up, so not many paid him any attention. And even if they did, most were far too hammered to notice anything. His most prominent feature was not his skin color but rather his white hair. Not once along his journey did Archer find anyone with white hair aside from the elderly.
Technically, he was an elder, considering how long he had lived.
Calling him ancient was more appropriate.
"Hey there, adventurer, how can I help ya?"
The voice of a young woman attracted his attention as he came to a stop in front of the bar counter. His eyes widened slightly as he found a young girl in front of him. With blood red hair that reached her shoulders, with pieces of cloth hiding her intimate areas while leaving the rest open for anyone to see, and most importantly…
… Pointed ears.
"A fae?" he said aloud, almost surprised by it.
"Excuse me?"
The barmaid gave him a confused look, bringing a cup full of mead up to him. Most just ordered the same thing and the bottles behind were just decorations at this point. The sound of the wooden cup placed in front of him brought Archer back to reality.
"Oh, don't mind me," he said, shaking his head at himself.
The only reason he became so surprised was due to dealing with people like Medea, descendants of gods, divine spirits, and servants who possessed pointed ears. These beings wielded strength from the Age of Gods, capable of slaying their Servant self with ease. He died battling one such Servant in the past, aside from Medea. That woman's poison reached a realm of lethality of its own. The summoning of her Noble Phantasm made him die out in the end.
'I wonder who summoned her… I can't even remember.'
So it would be natural to assume that her appearance brought him to edge a bit.
"Is this perhaps the first time you've seen an elf? Are you an Outlander by any chance?" the barmaid asked Archer.
So an elf, huh…
"I am. It's not every day I get to meet someone like you. You're the first elf I have seen since arriving here."
"That's normal. Most of my people chose to live outside the walls in the woodlands. Very few actually move inside the kingdom itself. Oh, and my name is Celine. What's yours handsome?"
"Archer," he answered, tasting some of the mead. "Have you been living here for a long time?"
"Yes, I believe that it's nearly been a century since I came here."
"..."
"What, not surprised? Normally, whenever I reveal that piece of information to anyone, they either get shocked or laugh, thinking that I'm joking."
Not surprisingly, with a face that could pass for someone in their early twenties, it would be hard to believe that Celine was a few centuries old.
But not to Archer, as time would lose its meaning for Counter Guardians living outside of space and time. He could be infinitely older than the elf in front of him as he's been technically working for Alaya since the beginning. There was no beginning for him. He was there sitting on a hill filled with swords from the very start. The concept of time, beginning, and end did not apply in the Counter Force's domain.
"I believe you. Not the most outrageous thing I've heard. So do you elves have your own kingdom or something? Considering your god lives here."
This was something he was curious to know.
"Celestine-sama is not our only goddess. And I am not the religious type like the others. We light elves have our own mainland, Igg. With our own system, with a king and queen and other gods and religion. Those who follow the teaching of Celestine Lucross came to Eostia, while others like me were just curious about humankind."
That piece of information caught his attention. So there were other gods as well... This worried him a bit, as if these beings were anything to close to he dealt in the past, then his current self would surely die when facing them. Then again, he wasn't their enemy, his only target was Vault and his group. Also, the name Igg reminded him of the Norse mythology concerning the World Tree—Yggdrasill. Archer wondered if there were any relation between those two.
Still, for him to casually meet an actual elf who was fascinated with humanity made him curious as well.
"Have you grown tired of humans yet? I know I have," he said sarcastically.
Celine chuckled.
"Of course not! Though you do have your faults, I can see the beauty in all of you. The adventurers and mercenaries who frequent my pub always bring in fascinating stories or their quests and battles. Even with such a short lifespan, your race managed to accomplish so much, leaving even the elves shocked with your rate of progression!"
Archer smiled at how bubbly Celine got. It reminded him of Alice when she would get a recipe right.
They conversed for quite a while until a group of guards walked through the door—one of which Archer recognized.
"Sol?" he called out.
The man noticed someone calling his name and turned to see a familiar face.
"Ah, praise the goddess! Saber!"
Archer's eye twitched.
"It's Archer."
"Oh, sorry, my friend, I got confused since I still don't see any bow on ya!"
The men behind him laughed.
"Come, join us for a round of drinking. Don't worry, I'll pay. One of those noblemen offered me a silver coin. So all drinks are on me!"
"Yeah!!"
The entire pub burst into loud cheering for the generous offer.
"Don't you do it, Sol! Last time the bill came to 2 silver coins, and your ass couldn't afford it! Don't make me have you clean the entire place again, or maybe I'll call your wife to beat some sense in you, again!" Celine shouted from the back, acting completely different from the gentle attitude she had when talking with Archer.
E-Eh, do-don't worry, I got my boys who will help me just in case it gets too expensive, right?"
"..."
No one answered and acted distracted by random things around them.
"You guys suck!" Sol cried tears seeing how he was so easily betrayed.
Archer just rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry. I'll help you out just in case you can't handle the bill."
He didn't even need to project any coins, as Maia oh so graciously left some spare change lying on top of her desk for him to take.
"You're a true brother, Lancer!" Sol shouted, messing up his name again.
"My name is Archer!"
{Break}
-Feoh-
Out of the seven kingdoms, both Feoh and Ur were considered to be the central hub for high-status individuals, like wealthy merchants, high-ranking nobles, and foreign officials to gather. While Thorne could be considered the headquarters of the Goddess Reborn, the kingdom itself was quite far from the intersecting roads of the various trade roads—unlike Feoh and Ur.
Not to mention, Prim Fiorire was one of the few Shields who heavily interacted with foreign affairs, so it made sense for most people to pass through her and Alicia Arcturus. The acres of lands and agriculture managed by the pink-haired Princess Knight further drove most of the rich and powerful to set up their home around those two kingdoms.
Outside a large white villa just on the outskirts of Feoh's northern region were four people conversing.
Two of which were regular humans and the other two being beastmen.
"Hahahaha, such a pleasure to do business with you, Princess Prim—oink!"
"Indeed—oink! We brothers are truly grateful for your assistance in our small family business. The Mortadella family is truly in your debt, and if you need any help, then don't hesitate to ask—oink!"
Two huge pig-faced beastmen wearing expensive tailored suits all bowed to the two women in front of them. The two were the Mortadella brothers, who specialized in trading various sorts of goods, of which Prim was their main provider and buyer.
"No, no need to thank me, I merely want to help my kingdom prosper with my people being properly fed and leading an easy life." Prim with a gentle and loving voice.
Much to her ignorance, the two brothers revelled on the inside from hearing her voice, which made the brothers' bodies shiver from pleasure.
Though they tried their best to not show anything on the outside.
"You truly are a saint, Princess Prim!" the elder brother, Igor, praised while his younger brother, Stain, nodded his head.
Their ears flopping around as sweat poured from their greasy skin, glinting brightly from the sunlight.
"Fufufu, you gentlemen are too polite." Prim said, not minding their behaviour.
Out of every Princess Knight, Prim Fiorire was the youngest of the group. But grew to be just as gifted as most of the Shields, with her physical appearance surpassing few of them. With wavy pink hair that reached her lower back and a curvaceous figure.
"Prim, we need to leave now."
To her side, Alicia urged her on. Not wanting to be present near these two beastmen any longer than necessary, especially with Prim. Thesr two brothers always felt wrong to her, their very nature contradicted the noble persona they put up in front of her. Every cell in her body just kept getting increasingly uncomfortable the longer she stayed close to them.
After exchanging a few more pleasant words, Prim bid farewell to the Mortadella brothers and got inside their personal carriage.
"The two pigs disgust me." Alicia snarled, thinking back at how caught up with them checking out her body and Prim's.
"If they weren't your associates, I would have them locked up and sent to the butcher. How dare they think I wouldn't see them staring at you like a piece of meat!? Disgusting!"
She burst into a fit of anger, raging about the many punishments and torture that awaited those brothers if they do much as touched any one of them.
Her younger coursin couldn't help but sigh at Alicia's tantrum.
"You worry too much, onee-sama." Prim said as she hugged Alicia's arm.
Despite being Alicia's cousin, Prim viewed her more as an older sister and referred to her as such. After all, the latter raised her since childhood after her parents died in an accident during a political mission outside Eostia. Being the only living member to the Fiorire family, the little girl who hadn't even reached the age of ten had to manage everything her family owned by herself. Safe to say, the snakes started to show their heads, other noble families' started to show up, demanding her to repay her parent's debt which she didn't even knew existed. They ordered her to hand over her family's land, their estate and wealth. Some even proposed to marry her off to their son who happened to be thrice her age and there was little she could do back then.
But then, Alicia came to her rescue, she scared away everyone who came to ruin the Fiorire family. Using her connection as the student of Claudia Levantine, she managed to handle every single paperwork and took the necessary legal actions to ensure that Prim would not even lose ounce of her family's belonging. She acted as her shield until Prim grew old enough to take care of herself.
And for that, Alicia represented much more to Prim than a simple cousin or even sister, she was her knight in shining armour, her angel... Her everything.
"I know that with you by my side, nothing will ever happen to me."
She meant every single word.
Her soothing voice and gentle nature managed to calm the blonde Princess Knight down a lot. Ever since she was a child, Alicia always took her role of protecting Prim very seriously. She hated seeing her interact with males from any race. They were all dogs and pigs, just like those brothers. The men in Ur and Feoh were no different, useless the lots of them.
There were a few exceptions to her dislike. Vault proved on many occasions to be a valiant and honorable man of his word. He carried his sword through the battle without fear and second-guessing. She could see how Maia came to love him.
Unfortunately, such men were nearly extinct, in her opinion.
"Onee-sama, you're making that face again."
A pair of soft hands caressed her cheeks, and she held on to them, finding comfort in Prim's presence.
She sighed
"Nothing, just some fleeting thoughts," Alicia said before having a letter presented in front of her by her cousin.
"What is it?"
"A letter from Maia."
Prim received the letter itself a few hours ago. She heard the news about how a small army of demons managed to infiltrate her territory at a small village and nearly destroy it if it weren't for Maia's timely intervention. So her heart shook when she saw the letter at first. Did she face another invasion? Did she need reinforcement?
But to her relief, it was nothing as such.
"She's coming to Feoh?" Alicia exclaimed in surprise.
Her face turned into a frown.
Maia, in her opinion, was a bad choice for the position of Princess Knight. The woman didn't have the slightest relation to any noble house and wasn't even the descendant of one. A peasant who grew up in the slums did not deserve such a prestigious position and blessing from the goddess herself. It was the nobles' duty to protect the weak and not the other way around. But she couldn't even say much on the matter. Both Claudia and Celestine had already made up their mind back then. She respected those two too much to oppose either of them.
"I can't wait to meet Maia. We haven't seen each other for such a long time!"
At least Prim was excited about the meet-up.
No matter, just going back to the castle in Feoh would take a few days. They might even end up meeting on the road.
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 2 Fate fics are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter.