"Miss Fleridine, are you ready to go scope out the dungeon yet?" a voice called out to Fleridine who was busy filling her backpack with supplies. She almost dropped the magic crystal in her hands from being startled like that.
This was going to be yet another chance to prove that she could be a leader. She had watched Daraia and Arthur with a watchful eye for a while now and was more confident than before.
It seems role models truly help in all aspects of life. She was always under the impression that people who say this were those who had given up on trying to become better so they try to act like their superiors and hang onto their coattails for guidance. It always disgusted her how the Magic Guild's guild master Admeera's assistants would glue themselves to her. They follow Admeera's every move and does everything she says.
Fleridine had always seen those people as "bootlickers" who want to climb the corporate ladder but the truth was that they were just learning from their "superior". Ever since realizing this, she had been studying how assistants from all professions interact with their superiors. Simply brewing tea when not asked or offering to rub their shoulders after a long day can make your superior develop some sort of trust towards to you, enough that will earn you some guidance if you ask for it. People in high positions are usually unwilling to teach their juniors everything due to fear of being replaced by talented individuals (this fear is felt by kings as well when choosing successors). This is how the hierarchy in guilds work at least. It could apply to any job if the junior shows incredible potential to succeed. Superiors fear this so they usually keep their assistants or junior employees on a leash and at arm's reach.
In the case of a leadership position: you can use the trust of others either for good or bad which is why guilds are very picky about leadership roles. Fleridine had already proved that she was trustworthy which is why she's considered an important member of the Magic Guild. The only thing she lacks is experience and skill. A leader has to be the parent of their team and the members of that team have to be the children who trusts and follows order faithfully and dutifully.
"I'll be out in a second." Fleridine answered and hurriedly put on her clothes. She had just come back from washing herself in a pond a few minutes ago and immediately began packing for the roundtrip to the dungeon. She went alone to gather her thoughts and quickly hurried back to camp to finish preparations for their recon. Unlike the rest of the camp, Fleridine and the rest of the recon members, won't be getting much sleep tonight. Their ranger will be doing the most work so she has no right to complain about not getting any sleep. If the dungeon entrance is crawling with monsters, then it's up to them to clear them out or at least dwindle down their numbers. The party needs to be in top shape for what's to come tomorrow. It's unknown what they'll encounter in the temple tomorrow.
Fleridine doesn't know what Divine Titans are but she has this image in her head that they're something on par with demigods. This is pure speculation on her part when taking into account that they're servants of gods tasked with protecting one of mankind's most cherished artifacts—the Song and Light Holy Sword. Such protectors—or guardians if you will—need to be strong entities so it's only fair to assume they're at least on par with the famous High Valkyries—an important title given to only the strongest Valkyrie—that Fleridine read about in copies of historic texts about gods.
A normal person would ask what chance do they have against demigods? They were going in expecting a fight but were they expecting to win? Not a chance. Considering the fact that the Hero is someone who will save humanity from great disasters in the future, laying down their lives just for Arthur to obtain the holy sword was the least they could do as Melis' creations.
Fleridine was of the same mind but she hoped that it wouldn't come to their deaths—any of their deaths.
"Is Pedick going to be okay too…?" Fleridine caught herself remembering her comrade's face and his suffering.
The two of them had been comrades for over a decade—basically since starting at the guild. Fleridine started out a receptionist while Pedick was a researcher who was exchanged from the Second Magic Tower after being recognized by the guild master for his skills.
Pedick left that title after being promoted to team member of the information-gathering division. Both had served as agents for two years now and have been through a lot together.
'I hope he's okay. His first child was born just a few months ago. His wife would be devastated at his passing.'
Fleridine sat on a stump that was inside her tent.
She thought about the curse while rubbing her chest. Just a few hours ago she could barely breathe and felt like things were crawling all around inside her body. She wished it was only her imagination but that was exactly what it felt like. She wasn't a stranger to inserting objects insert herself for pleasure and even pain so the feeling wasn't all unfamiliar.
She recalled something that Arnold said about the curse.
'If Pedick still has the curse then there's a chance he already infected a whole bunch of people.'
That was bad.
'I should bring this up with Lady Daraia—no, she probably also considered this possibility. But she remains calm because the holy sword is more important right now.'
Arnold had shared his knowledge of the curse and the antibodies that removed the curse so there's a chance they might be able to prevent a massacre once they return.
"Hey, have any of you seen Arnold?"
Fleridine could hear the voices of the female students outside.
"Why?"
"Uhm, no reason…"
"Why are you blushing, Jena?"
"I-I'm not!"
"Hahaha, alright, alright~ I think he went deeper into the forest. I heard from locals there are hot springs there."
"Really!? Then let's go together!"
"Uhm, I don't think it's a good idea to disturb his alone time. Or more like his and Miss Flora's alone time."
"Wha… She's there too?"
"I wanted to go spend time with him too but knowing she's there is just... I saw her heading in the same direction so it's natural to think that she wanted Arnold to herself. You know what I think? The two of them are secretly lovers but Miss Flora is too embarrassed to admit it. They're oddly close and comfortable with each other."
"Ugh… Miss Flora is so scary so I'd rather not disturb them... She might hit me for being an annoyance and my body might break!"
"Miss Flora might be a scary person but she probably has a soft spot for Arnold that she only shows in front of him."
"—Can you guys actually picture Miss Flora letting a man dominate her in bed…? A woman with that much pride?"
"Oh no, it's Ms. Degenerate Anais. She always meddles in other people's sex lives."
"That's because she lacks one of her own. Her crush is too busy being her big brother to reciprocate her feelings."
"W-Where did that name come from!? Hey, answer me! Don't ignore me!"
'…I should ask the boy if he'll be willing to give a deeper explanation of the curse.' Fleridine thought, ignoring the chatter from outside.
Fleridine felt it was rude to just refer to him as "boy" since he saved the whole group. He was someone deserving of respect. She had never had a chance to interact with him so she didn't know how to address him. Is he the type who cares what others call him? Fleridine felt that anything other than "Lord" was disrespectful. Due to the way she was raised, she never disrespects people she's indebted to. It was normally very difficult for others to gain her respect unless they have a somewhat prestigious background.
Fleridine was one of those people who didn't respect commoners until they showed her why they're deserving of it. While a logical thing to do, people like her are not liked that much by society, which is why Fleridine has very few close friends but a ton of acquaintances who'd rather not associate themselves with her more than necessary.
In any case, if she could gain a deeper understanding of the curse and the ritual magic Arnold used then she'll be able to save thousands of lives.
She felt that this was something a leader ought to do.
The boy definitely knew more than he was letting on. How will she persuade him to tell her everything?
She looked down at her body. She had the curves of a mature woman since she was in her 30s. Will the boy share what he knows if she uses her charms?
She didn't think it would work but it was worth a try. She could always find other ways to gain his trust. He wasn't someone she could let slip through her fingers.
With her plans decided, Fleridine stood up to prepare for their departure but she suddenly fell to her knees and coughed up blood. It felt like she was hit in the chest with a metal pole. The blood landed on her hand. She hurriedly tried to wipe off. However, before doing so, she witnessed something strange.
Her blood was… moving as if it were alive…
She managed to hold in her scream and used her sleeve to wipe it off, thinking she just swallowed a worm of some kind. The area she was scrubbing violently felt like it was burning so she winched before stopping.
"…Eh…?" perhaps it was due to the friction… but a piece of her skin had come loose.
It was like peeling a boiled potato, a comical thought to have in a moment of anguish. Somehow looking at the wound increased the intensity of the pain which made her groan even more.
The thought of "what is this" was overshadowed by the "please make this go away" as she crouched on the ground while clutching her arm.
◊◊
"—It's impractical to strike with the tip of your blade more than once unless you're a spear wielder. Spears have more force because they have higher reach! That's why I never make use of stabs and forward strikes! I slash only! Hck. My master taught me how to avoid getting critically injured by spear users. Do you want to know what you do? Hck. You wait until the last second behind dodging to the side and using your foot to hit the tip of your enemy's spear right into the ground! If you apply enough force then you might be able to immobilize your enemy since the force that they would've hit you with will be repelled by the ground and go through the spear's pole directly into their bodies. That gives you a few seconds to counterattack! Hck, do you know how much better I got at beating up spear users when I found this out!?"
"I'm very happy for you, Flora." She received a dry reply.
Arnold just nodded at the drunk Flora who was talking about how to fight. He decided to just entertain her by listening to her drunk ramblings even if he already knew most of what she was talking about.
Speaking to Flora wasn't what was making Arnold uncomfortable. It was the fact that her legs were horizontally over his. It wasn't to the point where she was on his lap, though. Even if it isn't, any guy would feel awkward in this situation, especially when your member is right between a girl's legs. Yes, Flora had unknowingly caused his thing to go in-between her legs. Every movement she made in the water caused him to get more and more erect.
If Flora were sober then she would've been the one to lash out at Arnold. He had tried his best to push her off him but she always glued herself to him again.
Flora had more than a few drinks prior to coming here so the wine just worsened her drunken state. She'll probably not even remember what was doing now.
"Then there's blunt weapon users. I hate those fuckers! I can feel their strikes even when I parry which messes my grip on the sword and weakens my strikes over time. It's easier to win against them if you strike their wrists but many of them are smart enough to wear wrist guards."
"…You should use the hilt of your sword to hit them if they're wearing armor. Whether it's full body or just minimum protection."
'It's surprising how she can make full sentences in this state…' her hiccups still haven't stopped though.
"Eh, people do, do that?"
"Knights usually do this. It's something that gained popularity when wearing full body armor became a thing."
"I didn't know that… I should try that next time I have to fight someone in full armor."
"Wouldn't this ruin the image people have of swordsmen? Insult their code?"
"Eh, will it?"
"Haa… Your master was a master swordsman—The Sword Master. He had a code he obeyed just like any other swordsman. He had to otherwise he would've lost the respect of the other masters."
"…." Flora's droopy eyes blinked at him, a sign that she didn't understand.
"Swordsmen must only use their bodies or the tip of their swords to fight against opponents. That's the first thing you learn." Arnold flicked her forehead which made her go "eek, that hurts!"
"Did you never pay attention to his classes?"
"Humph! I only need to know how to swing my sword and what body techniques I need to use to win battles!"
"Then I guess you don't deserve to succeed your master." He was only half-joking while saying so. This earned him a glare.
"You're not living by the Code but you're chasing a feat not many can reach—becoming one with your sword."
Doing so will allow you to break past your current limits and transcend every other swordsman, even those known as geniuses. It's a kind of breakthrough similar to reaching Level 70.
As mentioned before, if Arnold reaches level 70 then he would awaken his true might as a Transcendent and new opportunities—skills, class upgrades, experience point boosts, etc—would open themselves to him. Flora's case will be the same but she'll become even stronger than Arnold if she reaches Level 70 and becomes "one with her sword". Of course, it's possible that Arnold might catch up to her if manages to achieve a warrior's "Equilibrium". That was one of his goals besides working on his intelligence stat, subclass, the main quests, and other priorities.
"Even if you go past your own limits as a swordsman, your master—and every other veteran swordsman out there—would be disappointed to know you don't respect the code or follow it."
"Geh…" Flora averted her eyes.
"I know the Code as well even though I didn't follow Swordsman Teachings since Sebastian (a warrior) was my master. Does this make me more qualified than you to become the Sword Master?"
"W-Wha!? No, it doesn't! Only I get to succeed my master! That was a promise we made! Hck!" Flora jumped up, her bare privates right in Arnold's face.
"Ho? Promise? What would you get in return if you were to fulfill this promise?"
"T-That's not important…" she harrumphed and looked away.
'She's not even acknowledging that Vance von Penson is the current Sword Master. Well, if anyone can discern who is worthy of that title then it's the student of the former Sword Master.'
"I was really curious… Oh well."
"I-I'll tell you on one condition…" Flora looked straight into his eyes. Well, that wasn't saying much since her gaze seemed so unfocused, "…Do you know what happened to my master after the battle in the war of Juliar Kingdom…?"
Her lips were trembling, her eyes shaking and her breaths quick as she maintained eye-contact.
"The master you knew and loved is gone." Arnold replied without a moment's delay.
Those words seemed to throw cold water over Flora. Her eyes slowly widened and her mouth gaped. Her eyes slowly panned down but she wasn't looking at the water or her trembling fists. Her gaze seemed distant.
Her head then lowered but not so much that one couldn't see her face. Only her hair covered her eyes but Arnold could see her lips trembling.