Chapter 8: Giving and takingNotes:
"QuodSolumUnus" your wish has been granted.
Chapter is shorter due to school :(
Btw if I dont respond within an hour to a comment then that probably means that I am either in school or asleep.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 8
The rest of the rules were simple to follow in her opinion. Obey her commands without question. Do no steal. Do not talk about the specifics of what they did here. Be punctual. And above all else show respect for each other. They were all equal in worth. They all had suffered and they all would need to see themselves as a team to truly be effective. Tanya would have to beat that into them at the earliest possible opportunity.
Then she assigned everyone to their rooms and gave them half an hour to settle in. Because there was an odd number of people she gave Felt a room for her alone which was probably for the best. The girl needed space after her fresh trauma.
"Now comes the first test. I am going to trust you with incredibly valuable information that would surely sell well to the right kinds of people. Will you be able to shut your mouths and keep a secret I wonder?"
She grabbed her chin in mock thought and hummed loudly.
"The royal selection that could potentially determine the next queen of Lugnica is coming up in three days."
Through her many times giving speeches like this she had learned when to leave pauses for the crowd to murmur their surprise to each other. It was kind of funny how predictable most people were.
"We are going to be there. Reinhard and I will be present inside the hall while you will be outside searching for threats. Don´t worry. Most likely nothing is going to happen, but it never hurts to be cautious. Even though you will not be in my direct line of sight I still have my ways to keep an eye on y´all so don't you dare to slack off during a mission."
She could see it on their faces that they didn´t believe her. They would be in for a nasty surprise if they ignored her warning.
"The next two days are going to prepare you for this assignment. So no strength training, because I need you in peak condition when we do this." It was regrettable, but she needed this to be fast not thorough.
One of the first things she wanted to test and develop was marksmanship. This world had not discovered firearms yet, so the next best things were crossbows or blowpipes. She had discovered quite a few of them in the Astrea armoury. (Of course these filthy-rich nobles had one!) Reinhard took over this part of the training for her because Tanya had as much skill with such a weapon as her recruits in this exercise.
Most of her little meat-shields were actually not abysmal with the crossbow which came to her as a small surprise. But maybe that was only a by-product of Reinhard´s Divine Protection of teaching, who knew? At least a few of them had real talent and could decently assist from range.
When the sun began to settle and the crowd had shot their fingers bloody from loading and reloading the heavy weapons she decided it was enough and sent them away. Basic stealth and a few knife techniques would come tomorrow which meant that the soon-to-be soldiers needed to be well rested. Tanya was also quite hungry and looked forward to her criminally soft bed. The very first night she had barely found any sleep, because it was so unusual for her to sleep on something that wasn't stone hard or smelled like mud.
Reinhard interrupted her thoughts of warmth and comfort by producing a large package from seemingly nowhere. It was a long, thin object wrapped tightly in white linen. Temporarily she had completely forgotten what she had tasked him with after yesterday's dinner.
"My Ladyship, I regret it deeply that I was not able to make a perfect sword for you myself due to the time limit you imposed on me, but I believe to have found a sufficient alternative. The best blacksmith in the capital made this blade two years ago and it has gone unused until now."
Reinhard unwrapped the sword from the cloth and Tanya´s eyebrow rose in wonder.
It was a pitch-black cutlass that seemed to suck the surrounding light in on itself. The steel was so black in fact that it looked like piece of the night sky had been pressed into the form of a sword. Any form of colour could only be found on the handguard which glimmered in a dark golden tone.
"I assumed that due to your fondness for close quarters combat a slightly shorter and curved blade would be more effective. The steel has been magically enhanced by a shadow magician from Kararagi which should strengthen your own magic in this field should you one day learn it. Nonetheless is it able to channel large mana quantities of any element which you will undoubtedly find a use for. It is one handed because I had a feeling that you like to keep one hand free to surprise your enemy or handle a second shorter weapons. I hope it is to your liking Milady."
It was not only a beautiful, but also an incredibly thoughtful gift. She indeed had very few uses for a long, double handed weapon, because her fighting style prioritized quick movements and unpredictable attacks. On top of that the weapon enabled her magic which elevated its usefulness considerably. This was the perfect sword and she couldn't have asked for a better one.
"I am most grateful Reinhard. To say that you have merely exceeded my expectations would be an understatement. You have done me a great service that makes me once again proud to call you my knight."
His face visibly lit up from the small smile that grazed his lips.
"Thank you for your praise Milady, but I have done just my duty."
"You can always be honest with me Reinhard. There is no need for false modesty. If I tell you that you did good then you should accept that."
"Of course, if you wish Milady."
"I mean it. To recognize your strengths is an important part of self-improvement. Every successful employee knows how they can excel in their field. That´s just the nature of self-regulated human resource management."
He stared at her wide eyed, entirely unable to comprehend her eldritch wisdom of business economics. Such matters were obviously not a strong suit of his, now that Tanya thought about it.
Interlude 1
Somewhere in the space between spaces where all possible realities collided into one a ripple spread through the void. An entity that was called "god" by many lesser races shivered in apparent discomfort and howled with a thousand voices an unthinkable cry of fury. What had happened? What could have upset a being of such cosmic proportions? The answer was obvious: The Atheist.
The one human soul stubborn enough to spit into the face of a supernatural creature that held its whole existence in its metaphysical hands. Now this soul was known as Tanya von Degurechaff, the White Silver and Devil of the Rhine. Had she committed another blasphemous act to sully the name of the entity that she spitefully called "Being X"? No. What enraged this "Being X" so had nothing to do with her presence in his domain, but her absence.
Their lost lamb had somehow managed to slip out of his grasp! She had defied them in a way they hadn´t even thought possible. How was she able to slip away? "Being X" did not know and that infuriated them further. Wherever she was, whatever dark corner of the multiverse she had used to mask her presence with, it did not matter. For they would find her! Fast! And then she would truly learn how hopeless her struggle against them was!
With great haste the unconceivable entity spread its attention through its many worlds in a frantic search for Tanya. At this day only one soul nearly destroyed the balance of the entire multiverse.
Notes:
Who´s perspective of the events do you want the most? (Not necessarily now, but later in the story.)
Wilhelm? Crusch? Emilia? Reinhard?