Subaru and Emilia both had a poor night's sleep. Subaru could tell that Emilia had a lot on her mind, but he wasn't sure what to do about it.
Dawn was still hours away when Subaru realized he wouldn 't get any more sleep. He sneaked out of their room and went to a field next to the inn. He used Pridebreaker to summon the spirits and spent some time experimenting with their powers.
The group had a quick breakfast in the tap room that morning. Emilia kept looking askance at the glowing balls of energy hovering around Subaru. Subaru could tell that Emilia wasn 't pleased that he'd already summoned more spirits, but she didn't say anything.
"Let's head out," Subaru said when everyone finished eating.
"I don't think the soldiers are ready to leave yet," Felt warned him.
Subaru nodded. "I know. I just want to make sure that I have time to feed and water Patrasche before we leave. I worry that the soldiers aren't doing it right, no matter what they tell me. "
"It's good that you're taking such good care of her, Subaru," Emilia noted.
Subaru smiled. "I try to take good care of my friends, Mili," He said archly.
Emilia gave him a fond smile back.
The group spent some time feeding and fussing over Patrasche in the inn 's stable. The fiery dragon looked greatly soothed by their efforts, especially after spending the past few days mindlessly chasing after the carriage, which was clearly not an activity to her liking.
As soon as they had finished tending to the dragon, Captain Tob approached them, looking disgruntled. Behind him were two figures. A young man in his twenties with black hair and muddy brown eyes. He wore a red dress uniform similar to Teague and his sons. His expression was cheerful and guileless. Several paces behind him walked a slender, delicate woman with a kerchief in her hair and a veil across her face. She wore an elaborate, colorful dress, but the only part of her body that could be seen was a pair of large blue eyes, which she kept modesty downcast. Her sleeves covered her hands, reaching all the way down to her knees and making it look nearly impossible for her to do anything with her hands at all.
"Lord Subaru," Tob grumbled. "May I present the emissary from His Majesty, Emperor Vincent… Minister Brador," He said with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
Brador didn 't seem to notice. "Good afternoon to all of you," He said enthusiastically, shaking hands with everyone.
Subaru noted that he made sure to shake both Felt and Emilia 's hands, chalking this up as a mark in the man's favor. However, Brador did quickly glance at Subaru out of the corner of his eye as he did so as if to judge whether or not this behavior would be acceptable.
"As the good captain said," Brador continued as Tob walked off, grumbling to himself. "My name is Major Brador Basileus. Third son of General Basileus and the Junior Undersecretary to the Minister of the Interior."
Subaru carefully controlled his expression and glanced at Felt, whose eyes were equally incredulous.
The Junior Undersecretary to the Minister? That 's who Vincent sends to meet us? He must know that we 're more important than that, right? Why did he send such a low-ranking functionary to meet us?
Or did he do this on purpose as a negotiating strategy? Subaru suddenly wondered. He might be attempting to play this situation so that we assume that the Empire has only a passing interest in us.
That would actually make more sense. I 'll have to wait and see if I can figure out Vincent's game. The risky aspect of sending a pawn to negotiate is that leaders often underestimate how much their pawns know and how much information they can spill without even realizing it.
Well, we 'll figure it out.
Subaru smiled at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Major-"
"Oh. Just Brador, please," Brador said deprecatingly. "I never cared much for formalities."
And yet you went into government service? That wasn 't a well-thought-out plan.
Subaru didn 't let his smile flicker. "Well. It's a pleasure to meet you, Brador . And please thank His Majesty for all of his efforts. Everyone has been so kind and accommodating to us since we arrived in the Empire. "
Brador chuckled. "That's good to hear. I happen to know for a fact that His Majesty issued a direct command to the Empire to do everything possible and even the impossible to make sure that your stay was a pleasant one. "
Yup. As I said, pawns overhear everything, and they haven 't yet been trained not to repeat anything they find interesting. If Brador really was sent here to convince us that Vincent wasn't all that interested in negotiating with me, he's already ruined that plan.
Subaru glanced at the woman standing behind Brador. "And who's your traveling companion?"
The woman started. Her blue eyes looked at Subaru in alarm.
Brador 's smile evaporated on the spot. He slowly backed away as if menaced by a blow until he stood between Subaru and the woman. "I'm… sorry, my lord?" He whispered, sounding deeply uncomfortable.
Subaru looked at his friends in confusion, wondering what he 'd done wrong. Felt and Emilia seemed equally confused.
Before Subaru could ask another question, Garfiel cut in, "The Captain here was just curious, Brador. He only wanted to know her name. He didn't want her to do anything, " Garfiel said meaningfully.
Brador visibly relaxed. "Oh! Of course. Forgive my rudeness. My companion is called Kya."
What 's going on? Did I step on some kind of obscure Vollachian social rule?
Kya made no response to this discussion centered around her except for a deep bow when she was introduced.
Brador cleared his throat. "Lord Subaru, as the distance that we need to travel to reach the Emperor's encampment at Puella is still rather large, we plan to journey to Napoli and take a ship. The Emperor has placed a vessel at our disposal, so we won't be waiting to set sail."
"How far is it?" Subaru asked.
Brador thought for a moment. "About… two days to Napoli and one day to sail east to Puella. I believe that we will be departing as soon as the soldiers finish their meal."
Subaru nodded. "Excellent. If you two wish to join us in the carriage, I'm sure that we can make room. It'll be a little cramped, but…" He shrugged indifferently.
Brador looked slightly pained. "Thank you for your gracious offer, my lord. I accept with pleasure. Please give me a moment to see to my companion."
Subaru frowned. He 's deliberately ignoring the invitation to Kya. Why?
Brador walked away, and Kya followed silently after him.
Subaru turned to Garfiel. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
Garfiel looked disgruntled. "Kya's outfit is a sort of uniform," He grumbled. "It's… something that women wear when they've been excluded from 'polite society.'"
"Meaning?" Subaru asked.
Garfiel made a face. "In Vollachia, having too many daughters is sometimes seen as a burden. A few daughters are useful in making alliances but then you have to pay a dowry when they get married. So if a good alliance for a daughter isn't forthcoming, it's not unusual for her to be given away to an important man as a gift or a bribe. Or in poorer families even 'rented' out to houses of ill-repute."
Emilia looked horrified. "That's vile ! "
"Agreed," Subaru growled. He looked with loathing at Brador who was assisting Kya in climbing up onto a white riding dragon.
Subaru 's anger dimmed somewhat. He 's clearly trying to take good care of her. He's not just giving her orders. There does seem to be a genuine bond between them. But still, this is a seriously shit system that they live under.
Subaru and his friends approached the carriage. Subaru paused to tie Patrasche behind the carriage again, the riding dragon displaying clear annoyance at the situation.
Garfiel and Emilia climbed into the carriage.
"Hey, Subaru," Felt said quietly before Subaru could follow them into the carriage.
He glanced back at Felt, who stood there awkwardly.
"What's up, Felt?"
Felt sighed. "Thanks for sticking up for us last night," She said quietly. "I know that if I'd tried to slap those fuckers around, they would have just written it off as a childish tantrum."
"Believe me," Subaru chuckled, about to climb into the carriage. "It was my pleasure."
"Yeah…" Felt continued. "The 'pleasure' part is kind of what worries me."
Subaru blinked and looked back at her. "What do you mean?"
Felt walked closer and lowered her voice. "Subaru, you were acting… kind of funny last night," She said reluctantly. "I mean, idiots have talked down to me in the capitol before at all those stupid parties and cotillions."
"And I always stood up for you," Subaru reminded her.
"Yeah…" Felt said hesitantly. "But what worries me is how you did it.
"At one ball in the capital, when that baron told me that my ideas for emptying the slums just had to be stupid because I was a woman, you got the entire crowd's attention and challenged the baron to refute my ideas publicly. With everyone staring at him, he couldn't back down without looking weak, so he told me to present my ideas again. And not too surprisingly, he couldn't find any holes in them once he was forced to actually evaluate them on their merits. You got everyone's attention, spread awareness of our plans, and you marginalized a political foe all in one move," She finished admiringly.
Subaru smirked. "That was pretty nice, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it was. So, where was that Subaru last night? Last night, when folks were being assholes, you didn't get them to reconsider their prejudices. You just scared the hell out of them! You threatened to devastate an entire province just for sassing your friends!"
Subaru stared at her incredulously. "Come on! You and Emilia? What the hell is going on here? "
"Hey, if Emilia and I are on the same page about this, then that's news to me. But if your lover is saying the same thing as me, then maybe you ought to listen to her. Remember, she still doesn't know what happened in Girali that night. How do you think that she'd react if she did?"
Subaru flinched. "Felt!" Subaru protested.
"Subaru, we're hiding that information from her, and she's still worried about how you've been acting," Felt said intently. "If she knew what really happened that night, she'd be terrified."
"Felt, you can't tell her about that!" Subaru said desperately, looking over his shoulder to make sure that Emilia and Garfiel weren't overhearing this.
Felt jerked her head back in outrage. " I 'm not going to! " She hissed. "I'm not a snitch ! My point is that she 's already worried that this power is corrupting you, and she doesn't even have all the information yet! "
Subaru fumed. "What the hell is with everybody?! What is this, pick-on-me day? Why is everyone giving me so much crap about this?! "
"Because we care about you," Felt said flatly.
Felt 's words brought Subaru up short.
Felt sighed. "Look, Subaru," She said in a more composed tone, "Nobody is trying to bust your balls. We all know what you're capable of. You've handled everything that's been thrown your way so far, and I know that none of the rest of us could have handled all this shit. But you have to remember how it looks to us.
"You're holding an Authority. That's one of the greatest powers in the world. And to folks as small and weak as… me," She said reluctantly, "It can be… scary. I mean, you could step on folks like me without even noticing it. You need to be careful not just to avoid hurting people but to avoid scaring them. Because if people get scared enough, they'll turn on you even if you didn't do anything to deserve it. And then, when you're forced to fight back to protect yourself, everyone will just claim that proves that they were right to attack you in the first place."
Subaru stared at Felt, his expression growing slightly ashamed.
Felt sighed. "Well, whatever. We'll worry about it later. For now, let's hurry up and see what this stupid Emperor wants."
They all climbed into the carriage, and a moment later, Brador joined them, sitting beside Felt and Garfiel.
Brador closed the door behind him. The young man hesitated and then said in a low voice, "Lord Subaru, I know that I'm speaking outside my role, but… thank you."
Subaru frowned. "For what?"
"For inviting Kya," Brador said simply. "People usually don't even see her."
"Why didn't you let her ride with us then?" Felt scoffed.
"Because I'm quite certain that we're being watched," Brador said flatly, "And the fact that I let her ride with us would be reported. Even if His Majesty didn't mind, I can assure you that my superiors at the Ministry would absolutely consider it a serious error in judgment."
Subaru squinted at him. "What is Kya to you?"
Brador flushed and gave him a helpless smile. "I love her," He said simply.
Subaru scratched his chin. "So… she's part of your harem?" He asked, trying to hide his distaste.
Brador looked pained. "Not… officially," He admitted. "As a 'fallen woman,' it would be inappropriate for her to be in a Patrician's harem," He finished with a sigh.
"So she's your mistress," Felt said flatly.
Brador looked miserable, "Yes."
"And how do your wives feel about that?" Felt snorted.
"My fiancée. And actually, we've never discussed it," Brador said with aplomb. "I visit her once every month or two as a good fiancée should. We have a tea party, and she shows me her new dolls, and then I read her a book. And in ten years or so, when she comes of age, we will be married," He finished with a somber sigh.
Subaru nodded slowly in understanding. "I take it that this engagement wasn't your idea?"
Brador sighed. "It's an excellent union. An alliance that will make both houses stronger. Or so my father tells me," Brador said deprecatingly. "Truthfully, I count myself lucky. If Ari were older, we'd already be married, and she would certainly object to keeping Kya in our household. It would be a scandal of monumental proportions. Because Ari is so young, Kya and I will have several additional years to spend together before I need to get married. Truthfully, that was one of the reasons that I volunteered to make the long trip out from Rupgana to meet you, my lord. Out here in the boonies, no one cares that I'm seen in public with a 'whore,'" He finished with a sigh.
Subaru 's face was pained. "I'm… very sorry," He said.
Brador sighed and forced a smile on his face. "Please. Don't be. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful companion. At least for as long as I can. But enough about me. Is there anything I can tell you about the glorious Empire?"
Subaru mulled it over for a moment. "Well. Since you asked, I'm somewhat curious about Vincent's interest in me."
Subaru used the name very deliberately, waiting to see if Brador would react to the blatant disrespect of his monarch but Brador didn 't even seem to notice.
Brador looked uncomfortable. "Well, I don't really know," He said awkwardly. "The mission was given to me by the Minister. I've never even had a meeting with His Majesty."
Felt 's eyes narrowed, and then her face smoothed out. "But you must have heard some interesting things about what's going in the Empire," Felt suggested guilelessly. "Like the Horned Witch? And the Rebels?"
Subaru carefully hid a smile. Oh, Felt. I remember we set up this routine back when we were trying to squeeze information out of nobles in the capitol. It 's just like the old days.
Brador 's expression grew trapped.
"Oh, leave him alone, Felt," Subaru intervened smoothly. "We'd never ask Brador to tell us anything that he'd heard in confidence."
Brador visibly relaxed. "Yes, thank you. I really couldn't repeat anything that I heard on the job."
"Naturally," Subaru agreed. "But I'm just curious what people are talking about these days. You must have heard some interesting stories in the taverns and pubs as you traveled across the Empire."
Brador mulled that over. "Well…" He hesitated.
"Nothing private or restricted," Felt commented. "Just… some pub tales that we might find diverting."
Brador thought about it and slowly nodded. "I mean… my orders were to do whatever I could to accommodate you," He said thoughtfully.
"Exactly," Subaru shrugged. "So, heard anything interesting?"
Brador shrugged. "Well… the Empire is in big trouble because of the rebellion," He admitted. "Everybody is wondering if these are the end times."
"What exactly are they rebelling over anyway?" Subaru asked.
Brador shrugged. "Well, the rebels believe that His Majesty is a false ruler. They claim that the rightful heir to the throne is his nephew Octavian. So-"
"Bull," Felt cut him off.
Brador blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Bull. Shit," Felt said very clearly. "That's not a reason to rebel. That's an excuse. That's how they justify what they're doing. Nobody would decide to go to war for a dumb reason like that. So what's the real reason why the rebels are so unhappy?"
Brador looked pained. "Well… there are actually several reasons," He said awkwardly. "Most pressingly, I think that the undead legions are giving malcontents hope that they might actually have a chance of successfully overthrowing the Emperor."
Felt rolled her eyes. "Again. That's an excuse. Not a reason," She said in a bored tone. "Nobody would care if they could overthrow the Emperor unless they already wanted to do it. So what 's the real reason?"
"Well… That depends on who you ask," Brador murmured. "The kholops and plebeians both have their own reasons for wanting to overthrow His Majesty, but the rebellion is being directed by the patricians who ten to have… less altruistic goals."
"Such as?"
"Power," Brador said shortly. "For much of our history, the Emperor has been… more or less a pampered and powerful figurehead. The Senate held all the power."
"How did that work?" Garfiel asked. "I thought that the military was loyal to the Emperor personally."
Brador nodded. "That's true. But the Senate always had a powerful asset on its side: The Arcani."
Garfiel frowned. "I remember Priscilla mentioning them," He said vaguely. "Those are like spies, right?"
"They're the ever-present eyes and ears of the Vollachian state," Brador said seriously. "They're a secret among secrets, your best friend, your lover, even the mother who bore you; any one of them could be an Arcani agent, carefully recording your words and forwarding them to their superiors. I could be an Arcani General, and you'd never even know it until it was too late."
Subaru gave him a steady look. "I bet that I could figure it out," He murmured.
Brador continued, "There's an old wives tale that a Vollachian plebeian can't sit down to eat breakfast without each and every item on his plate being duly cataloged for the Arcani's files."
"What happens if you eat something that disagrees with them?" Subaru quipped.
Brador 's expression was deadly serious. "People have been known to disappear for less, " He admitted.
Subaru digested that. "Who do they work for?"
"Themselves," Brador snorted. "In theory, they report to the Senate and the Emperor, but they've often forced the Senate and the Emperor to dance at the end of their strings. It's said that the Arcani's files have blackmail material on everyone in the Empire. And even if they don't have any material on someone, they can always just make it up. Few would dare to question the legitimacy of any evidence they produce."
"These guys sound like real pieces of work," Subaru commented.
"Very true," Brador agreed, "They've kept Vollachia in a state of stasis for centuries. They've blocked any reform of the existing system."
"How do they do that?"
Brador shrugged. "The theoretical charter of the Arcani is to protect the empire from 'treacherous and subversive ideas.' So every time a man is up for promotion to a senior position, the Arcani do a full investigation."
"To make sure that he's loyal?"
"To make sure that he firmly believes in the status quo," Brador corrected. "If he proves to be a 'radical,' in other words, someone who supports any sort of political reforms, the Arcani's report is certain to be damning. Men have been rejected for promotion and placed on trial for their lives on the same day. Of course, if the Arcani approve of the candidate's policies, they'll produce surprisingly little evidence on him at all."
"These guys suck!" Garfiel said incredulously. "Why didn't the Senate and the Emperor get rid of these assholes years ago?"
"Because it's not that easy, Master Garf," Brador said patiently. "The Arcani don't have a headquarters. None of their agents' names are known. They shroud themselves in secrecy. As a matter of fact, attempting to rid ourselves of the Arcani is a large reason why the rebellion started in the first place."
"I don't understand," Subaru said.
Brador looked around as if worried that he was being overheard. "You realize that I didn 't actually tell you any of this, right? " He asked meaningfully.
Subaru carefully hid a smile. "You have our word," Subaru said in amusement.
Brador sighed. "A few years ago, his Majesty struck out at the Arcani on what came to be called 'the Night of Bloody Knives.' Somehow, he'd managed to acquire the names of all the major operatives in the Empire, and he had them all executed or assassinated on the same night."
Felt 's eyes widened. "How the hell did he pull that off? "
"No idea," Brador said. "For centuries, dozens of reformers and revolutionaries from all walks of life have attempted and died trying to do what His Majesty did. I can't begin to imagine how he acquired that list of names. The Arcani were all but broken in the aftermath. The entire Empire reeled from the situation."
Subaru raised an eyebrow. "I'd have thought that they'd be thrilled."
"The people most certainly were," Brador admitted. "His Majesty's popularity skyrocketed that day. However, the Senate was less enthused. They viewed this as a naked power grab since the Arcani was one of the few weapons that the Senate could leverage against His Majesty."
"And that started the rebellion?"
"How precisely it started is unclear to me," Brador admitted. "However, not long after the Night of Blood Knives, rumors started to circulate in the Empire of a man called Octavian who claims to be Vincent's nephew and the rightful Emperor."
"By what right?"
Brador chuckled. "Force of arms," He said dryly. "In the Empire, any man can be Emperor if he's strong enough to force everyone else to bow down. The rest is just politics and propaganda. I believe that Octavian is declaring that His Majesty's reign is illegitimate because he failed to kill both Octavian himself as well as his own younger sister. By law, a new Emperor can not be crowned until all other contenders have been killed. So, from a strictly legal perspective, whether Octavian 's claims are proved true or because His Majesty's sister still lives, there is an argument that His Majesty's reign is indeed illegitimate. Several Senators have agreed to review the matter. "
Subaru 's eyes widened. "The Senators agreeing to even consider this claim can only be taken as a direct challenge to Vincent 's authority," He said thoughtfully.
"Precisely. It seems clear that a large number of Senators are quietly supporting Octavian's coup in an effort to regain the authority and prestige they lost when the Arcani fell."
Felt digested that. "Alright. That explains why the Senators want the Emperor dead, but I still don't understand why the lower classes are getting involved. And how does the Horned Witch play into all this?"
Brador shrugged helplessly. "I suspect that the kholops are going along with this in hopes that the new Emperor will show them favor for supporting him," He said.
"You sound skeptical," Subaru noted.
"I am skeptical," Brador admitted. "I've grown up surrounded by Patricians. Not many of them consider the kholops to even be human, much less deserving of any sort of respect. I suspect that when the war is over, one way or the other, the kholops won't see their lot change very much."
"What about the witch?" Felt asked.
"We… don't really know," He admitted. "Until recently, Imperial policy was that the Witch was nothing more than the fever dream of half-starved jungle explorers. When the undead first started to emerge from the jungle, that theory got much harder to sustain."
"It's a really good question, though," Subaru agreed. "What does the witch get out of any of this?"
"The ear of the new Emperor?" Garfiel suggested.
"What does she need that for?" Felt scoffed. "If this witch is strong enough to take down the Emperor on her own, she doesn't need Octavian or the others. If she's not strong enough to take down the Emperor on her own, then as soon as Octavian takes the throne, everybody is going to forget any promises that they ever made to her and banish her back to the swamps. And she'd have to be an absolute imbecile if she doesn't see that coming."
"Maybe a contract?" Subaru suggested. "Roswaal once tried to trap me in a magical contract that he said I wouldn't be able to break. Maybe the witch could protect herself with something similar."
Everyone looked at Emilia.
Emilia just shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, Subaru. This is well beyond my magical knowledge. I doubt that Roswaal was bluffing, but I don't know what the rules are regarding these kind of contracts or how difficult they are to cast and enforce."
Subaru made a face. "Well. At least we have a clearer idea of what's going on in the Empire now."
"Do we?" Felt countered. "Frankly, I feel like we just keep getting more and more confused."
"Don't worry, shrimp," Garfiel yawned. "We still like you. Even if you are a little slow sometimes."
"Bite me, fleabag."
Not long after sunset, they heard shouting outside the carriage.
Emilia pulled the curtain aside and looked out.
"What's going on, Mili?" Subaru asked.
Emilia 's eyes widened. "Subaru, I think that a village is under attack!"
Subaru pulled the golden staff out of his satchel. "Stay here. I'll go and do something about that," He said, sounding eager.
Subaru opened the door and hopped out onto the carriage footplate.
Subaru peered into the distance. Not far from here, there was a village back in the trees. Subaru could see that the town had people running in every direction, and he could hear cries of alarm.
However, it looked like Captain Tob and his men were paying no attention to this and planned to ride right past them.
"Hey!" Subaru shouted at the startled carriage driver. "Stop!"
The carriage driver looked uncertain but he did as instructed.
Captain Tob looked back, realizing that something was amiss. He checked his riding dragon and quickly trotted over to Subaru.
"Lord Subaru, is something wrong?" Tob asked.
"Those people are in trouble!" Subaru pointed out.
Tob glanced at the village. "Oh. There's nothing to be concerned about, Lord Subaru. My scouts already checked it out. The men attacking that village aren't rebels. They're just bandits. Criminals and runaway kholops. They're no threat to us."
"But aren't you going to try to save the villagers?" Subaru asked incredulously.
Tob shrugged. "Lord Subaru, my mission is to escort you and your party to meet with the Emperor, not engage in dust-ups with the local bandit gangs."
Subaru gave him a dark look. "Well, I am going to the village to rescue them. Are you coming or not? "
Tob and his men followed Subaru into the village, but they clearly did so under protest.
Emilia, Felt, Garfiel, and Brador also followed him, ignoring Subaru 's orders to stay behind.
I guess there 's no point in forcing the issue, Subaru thought. As long as I have the staff, it 's not like they're in any real danger from a handful of bandits anyway.
Subaru took the lead. As they emerged through the underbrush, Subaru discovered that the village was in flames. Men in crude leather armor were attempting to steal everything not nailed down. The kholops were all painfully thin and wore the rough smocks and tunics. They fought back with pitchforks, shovels, and other tools even more crude. They were having no luck driving back the bandits.
"Lord Subaru," Tob grumbled. "Perhaps we should try to flank-"
Subaru raised the staff. "Rain!" He cried out.
The spirits glowed brightly for a moment.
There was a shattering clap of thunder overhead, and a deluge poured down.
The battle in the village stopped for a moment. Everyone, both bandits and kholops, looked up in confusion as a downpour emerged from a previously clear sky.
Subaru marched forward, the golden staff jingling with each step.
I 've got to admit that I'm enjoying this! Subaru fought not to grin. Everyone is staring at me, wondering what I 'll do next.
"Your time here is over!" Subaru cried out to the bandits.
A hulking, grizzled man stepped forward. "Who are you?" He called defiantly over the torrential rain.
The bandits still couldn 't see Tob's men, the Vollachian soldiers were apparently so shocked by the change in weather that they all held back and were letting Subaru handle the problem. To the bandits, it appeared that a single man was challenging them, a man that the bandits had no reason to assume had anything to do with the freak rainstorm.
"I'm Subaru Natsuki," Subaru declared boldly. "And your lives are in imminent danger unless you leave here immediately, never to return."
The bandit chief started to scoff, and then he hesitated. He saw the dozens of spirits glowing sedately above Subaru 's head.
"What's your business here?" The chief asked cautiously. "This is our territory."
"Says who?" Subaru snorted.
"Says us!" The chief said, thumping his barrel chest. "We own all the villages in these parts 'cause we're the strongest blokes in the region."
"Not anymore, you're not," Subaru said. He raised his staff, and there was a blinding flash.
Twin bolts of lightning slashed out of the sky, engulfing an enormous tree and blasting it in half. The sheer heat of the lightning strike superheated the sap inside the wood, and the tree simply exploded into chunks of burning debris.
Most of the bandits and not a few of the resisting kholops looked terrified.
"You guys better get out of here fast," Subaru said ominously.
One of the bandits bolted for the safety of the trees.
"Hey!" The chief thundered at him.
The fleeing bandit slowed and then stopped.
The chief turned back to Subaru. "What business of yours is it what we do here?"
Subaru glowered. "Buddy, there is a basic equation here that you're not getting. Either you all get lost right now or I use you the lot of you for target practice. It's tricky to hit moving targets with lightning bolts. I could really use some more practice."
One of the other bandits hurried up to the chief and whispered in his ear. His expression was frightened.
The chief studied his men 's faces and realized they were all terrified.
The chief looked frustrated, but he reluctantly nodded. He gestured to the men to fall back, a command that they quickly obeyed.
The chief gave Subaru a look of loathing. "Does this make you feel better about yourself?" He asked, not showing a hint of fear.
"Actually, yes. Saving people does make me feel better."
"Saving them? Saving them for what, a few days?" The chief sneered.
Subaru frowned.
The chief looked in disgust at his retreating men. The other bandit hurried to his side. He looked at Subaru in terror, and he whispered something in the chief 's ear, but the chief angrily threw him off.
"I hate fools like you. Are you planning to move in down here and keep these dirt farmers safe?
"So, you drove us off tonight. Big deal. By next week, you'll be long gone, and we'll be right back here. And we'll be angry next time. You didn't accomplish anything 'cept to delay the inevitable for a week.
"You might as well have just kept walking and let us finish our business. We'll be back, and I promise it'll be worse for them next time.
"You better learn to mind your own business, or it will go bad for you and yours. I see your friends back there in the trees. Be a right shame if anything happened to them."
There was a brilliant flash of light, and the chief and his lieutenant were engulfed by lightning. Their bodies, wreathed in flames, fell to the ground as charred corpses.
The other bandits looked in horror at their dead leader.
Subaru glowered at the bandits. "Why are you still here?" He grated. "If I ever catch you in this area again, I'll set you all on fire! "
The bandits ' eyes widened and they took off at a sprint, many bandits even throwing down their ill-gotten spoils to enable them to run faster.
Subaru snorted in contempt.
Emilia and Felt stared at Subaru in disbelief, and even Garfiel looked uncomfortable.
Emilia pursed her lips. There was no reason to do that. The bandits were leaving. Now the kholops look just as afraid of Subaru as they are of the bandits.
Subaru returned to the group, looking annoyed. "Well. That was unpleasant," He admitted.
"Why did you kill them?" Felt murmured.
Subaru looked incredulous. "They were bandits! They even told us that they'd come back later and finish what they started!"
"But how did killing those two prevent that?" Emilia asked softly. "Couldn't we have just chased them away?"
Subaru flushed.
Tob swallowed hard. "Amazing, Lord Subaru!" He whispered. "Very impressive… I promise I will make a very clear note of this in my report to His Majesty…"
I wonder if that 's a good thing…
"Thanks, Captain," Subaru sighed, shrinking the staff and putting it back in his satchel. "So, where are we staying tonight? It's getting late."
Captain Tob looked nervous. "There's an inn I know of less than an hour away. It should provide comfortable accommodations for you and your companions."
"Great," Subaru said. "Let's get moving then."
Subaru walked back toward the carriage, his friends trailing behind him. As he approached, he noticed Brador studying him closely, his eyes speculative.
The inn was built on two levels. The first floor had an enormous tap room and dining hall. Above it was a balcony-corridor with numerous rooms branching off. There was also a large sitting room on the second level for the guests to share.
There was enough space that Felt and Garfiel not only got their own beds but they even got their own rooms.
Felt and Garfiel stood on the balcony while Subaru and Emilia freshened up before dinner.
"Is it strange that after all this time, it kinda feels weird not to be sleeping next to you, shrimp?" Garfiel asked philosophically.
"Get used to sleeping alone, Garf," Felt said at once. "You'll be doing it for most of your life."
Garfiel chuckled good-naturedly. "Well, I don't think you should get too used to it if you catch my drift. "
Felt bristled. "What the hell does that mean?"
"Think about it! We're in the home stretch! As soon as we rescue the Little Bit and fix everyone's memories of Frosty, we'll be able to patch things up with folks back home," He said meaningfully.
Felt flushed and folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah… Well, I'm not planning on talking to Rem for the foreseeable future," she blustered.
Garfiel snorted. "Yeah. Rem . That 's who I was talking about," He said, refusing to take the bait.
Felt muttered something noncommittal.
"Oh, come on, shrimp! Be honest! Once we fix everyone's memories, doesn't the thought of reconnecting with Red make you even a little bit happy?"
"Why should it?!" Felt demanded. "And why should the big dope having his memories straightened out make me want to see him again?"
Garfiel raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You're still really mad at him, huh?"
"Of course, I'm still mad at him!" Felt snapped. "He wouldn't listen to me! I literally begged him to believe me, but he wouldn't do it! The big dumb jerk! I didn't have the right memories either! But I was willing to accept reality when it slapped me in the face! Red never changes his mind! Even if it's… Pah! You know what? Forget him! I don't care if I ever see the big nitwit again!" Felt finished defiantly. She wore a scowl, her face was bright red, and her eyes were watery.
Garfiel studied Felt carefully. "Well, there'll be a lot to straighten out after we fix everyone's memories," He said calmly, deciding he wasn't brave enough to call Felt out on her transparent lies. "And an awful lot of folks are going to owe us an awful lot of apologies before I forgive them."
Felt sighed pensively and drummed her fingers on the balcony railing. "You know something, Garf," Felt said in a calm, easy voice that immediately put Garfiel on high alert. "We really need to find you a woman before we go back home."
Garfiel blinked. "Huh? What about Ram?"
"I meant a woman who might actually be interested in you. We already know plenty of women who you like but who don't care two cracked coppers for you. Ram and Priscilla are just the top two."
"I never had a thing for Priscilla!"
"You spent an awful lot of time staring at her tits," Felt reminded him.
Garfiel shrugged. "Those were pretty nice, " He admitted. "But the rest of her gets onerous pretty fast."
Felt burst out laughing.
Garfiel frowned. "Actually, do you think we'll bump into her while we're down here?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Felt sighed, "Don't worry, fleabag, your eyes and her cleavage will be happily reunited before much longer, and then I'll be completely miserable and desperately searching for an escape."
"Yeah, you and Frosty both," Garfiel said meaningfully. "Don't forget what Priscilla said about the Captain."
"Oh, I remember," Felt said meaningfully. "I just hope that I'm there when he turns her down. It would almost make that whole horrible trip across the continent worth it."
Subaru and his friends sat at a wooden table in a large taproom. Dinner was a savory stew which the innkeeper provided.
At Emilia 's request, Subaru had dispelled the spirits to avoid attracting attention.
It was just after midnight when I summoned these spirits, so Pridebreaker will be ready again in a few hours if I need it. I hate to release the spirits before I 'm ready to summon more, but if it keeps me and Emilia from arguing again…
Brador and Kya sat alone at a table not far off. The inn also had several other travelers in the taproom, although most of the inn was empty. The travelers were all in military uniforms, muddy and weather-spotted. Captain Tob had made camp with his soldiers in a field next to the inn.
After finishing a bowl of stew, Subaru decided to investigate what Brador and Kya were doing. They appeared to be playing some kind of board game.
He approached the table and raised an eyebrow. "Chess?" He asked in surprise.
Brador gave him a half smile. "A hobby of mine," He said deprecatingly. Kya moved her piece with difficulty due to her unnaturally long sleeves dangling around her arms. She made no effort to roll them up.
Subaru smirked. "I get winner," He said, remembering how he'd corrected Crusch's game in the capitol all those months ago.
I have Reason and Judgment, after all, but I never really get to use it for something stupid and fun like this. I feel like I deserve a little treat after everything I 've been dealing with lately.
Brador chuckled. "Well, in that case, I believe you're up… now," He said in satisfaction, making his move.
Kya gravely inspected the board, and then she knocked over her king with a sigh.
Brador started to set up the board again as Kya excused herself without a word.
"Fair warning, Lord Subaru," He said smugly, "I may be a 'foolish wastrel with scant morality and little seriousness' as my father says, but as far as chess is concerned, I am good."
Subaru sat down across from him. "Well. This should be interesting then."
The poor dope doesn 't realize that he's not actually playing against me. He's playing against Reason and Judgment, which can see fifty moves ahead and just hand me the best move.
Subaru made the first move, and Brador immediately followed up.
"I'm very proud of my chess game, you know," Brador continued. "It was always one of the few things my father praised me for."
"Oh? Is chess popular in the Empire?"
"Not especially, but it does have a strong following among the Patricians. Father always said that chess was a game of generals," Brador continued. "But the real reason he approved of me playing it was because he thought it would help his social ambitions. At one point, it was suggested that I might be invited to play against His Majesty."
"Vincent plays?" Subaru asked in surprise.
That might be useful to know during negotiations. A game might put Vincent in a better mood if things get bogged down.
"I'm told that he's very good," Brador agreed. "But I never got the chance to even meet His Majesty, much less play against him. Father's expectations for me dimmed as I got older and I made what he viewed as 'questionable choices' in my life. He decided that burning all the political capital it would take to try to arrange a game would be a waste. After all, from Father's point of view, even if by some miracle, I won, nothing would be gained unless I also had the political wherewithal to leverage that victory into some kind of advantage."
Subaru studied the board. "And he thought that you didn't?" He said as he made his move.
Brador shrugged. "He either thought I didn't have the talent or that I wouldn't bother to take advantage of the opportunity. Either way, I have to admit that he was probably right."
"You're not especially concerned with climbing the social ladder?"
"The higher you climb, the more restrictions are placed on your life," Brador said flatly. "Empirically, the best role is to be wealthy but unimportant."
Subaru chuckled. "I think that worldview is considered heretical in the Royal Assembly."
"The people in the Crystal Palace share a similar opinion," Brador admitted.
Subaru studied the board and then moved his knight.
Brador stared at him. "That was an interesting move, " He said with a frown. "Are you sure you want to do that? "
Subaru carefully kept a blank face. He knows that I just invited him to take my knight, and he can 't see how I benefit from it. He's wondering if it was a gambit or a blunder.
Subaru shrugged. "Well, I already made the move, so I guess we'll just let it play out," He said.
Brador stared at him with an intensity that began to make Subaru feel uncomfortable. Ultimately, Brador made his move and took Subaru 's knight with his queen.
Subaru moved a pawn forward, threatening the queen, and Brador retreated the piece.
Subaru moved his bishop to attack the queen from a different angle, and Brador was forced to move it again.
Subaru fought to keep from laughing as, for the next six moves, Brador was forced to do nothing but move his queen over and over again as Subaru launched a full offensive against the piece.
By the time Subaru 's tempo stalled out, his entire army was bearing down on the right side of the board, poised to launch an all-out attack on the king while most of Brador's pieces remained pinned behind his own back row.
Brador studied the board intently. "I see," He murmured, sounding oddly serious. "You sacrificed the knight to win tempo and then gave me the choice to either sacrifice my queen in return or to give you the time you needed to organize your forces. Now, my flank is under direct attack, and my pieces are trapped behind my own backline. You're threatening to pin my king down while his own soldiers block his escape."
Subaru carefully hid a smile.
Brador studied the board carefully. His expression was both frustrated and reluctantly impressed. "Mate in four moves?" Brador asked with a sigh.
Three, actually, but why rub it in?
"That's about what I was thinking," Subaru nodded.
Brador slowly reached down and knocked his king over. He held out his hand for Subaru to shake. "Very, very impressive," He grumbled.
"You play a good game," Subaru said respectfully, shaking his hand.
"I play a very good game," Brador agreed. "My family may not think I have much going for me, but I am very proud of my chess game. I haven't lost a game since I was twelve years old."
Subaru blinked. "Wow. Really?"
Brador nodded, his expression disgruntled. " Really . I hope you don 't mind if I mention this in my report to His Majesty. The Emperor should know who he's negotiating with."
If Vincent is a chess fanatic and he knows that I 'm good at the game, then that just gives me more options to try to gain leverage.
Subaru shrugged. "Feel free. I have nothing to hide, and I'd never ask you to conceal any information from your Emperor."
Brador nodded and started to put away the board and the pieces. "If you'll excuse me, I should go see where Kya got off to," he muttered, clearly annoyed by his loss. He got up and walked away.
Huh. Maybe beating Brador this way wasn 't the best plan after all. If I beat Vincent, I'm sure he'd be impressed. Losing a game wouldn't matter much to an Emperor. But it sounds like Brador really doesn't have many accomplishments in his life aside from his chess game, and I just took that away from him.
I guess I can 't really blame the guy for being upset. I really need to start thinking my way through things before I act…
Wondering if he 'd just sabotaged a useful relationship in the Empire, Subaru returned to his friends, sitting down beside Emilia.
"How did the game go, Captain?" Garfiel asked at once.
"Well, I won," Subaru said slowly. "But I'm starting to wonder if playing was a good idea."
"What do you mean, Subaru?" Emilia asked quietly.
Subaru made a face. "I was trying to impress Brador and see if we could make some new connections. Unfortunately, Brador appears to take his chess game very seriously, and it looks like the loss rankled him."
Garfiel snorted. "What is he? A child? Who the hell gets upset over losing a game?"
"Someone who doesn't have many accomplishments to speak of except for being good at a game," Subaru said with a helpless shrug.
Garfiel digested that. "Oh," He said, flushing slightly.
"Yeah. It pays to think before you act," Felt said pointedly.
Subaru sighed.
"Good evening," A young rabbit demi-human said to Subaru as she sat beside Felt. "Is this seat taken?"
Subaru looked around at all the empty tables in the nearly deserted taproom. The stranger seemed barely more than a child with a smooth, expressive face and brown rabbit ears extending out from her curly brown hair. She wore nondescript traveling clothes, a brown tunic, and a skirt under a red traveling cloak.
"Can we help you?" Subaru asked awkwardly.
"Maybe. Then again, I might be able to help you. You see, a certain Lady sent me here to talk to you," She spoke with a girlish, almost giddy exuberance.
Subaru frowned, noticing that the stranger 's cheerful, guileless expression didn't reach her eyes.
Everything about this person is a lie. That makes me very nervous …
Subaru lowered his voice. "I appreciate whatever cloak-and-dagger thing you're trying to do here, but we might need a little more information to work with than just 'a certain Lady.'"
To be fair, I have a few suspicions, but let 's make sure we know who we're talking to…
The demi-human chuckled, but their eyes didn 't flicker. "The Lady who helped them find you a week or two past, " She pointed her thumb at Felt and Garfiel.
Sphinx .
"My name is Kouné, by the way," The demi-humans continued.
"And what does this particular lady want with me?" Subaru asked calmly.
"Huh. Well, funny enough, she sent me here to ask you the very same question."
"I don't understand."
"Well," Kouné said as if relating a funny story to a few close friends. "Her Ladyship knows that you haven't formed any sort of official alliance with her yet, but she at least thought that you weren't enemies!"
Subaru cocked his head. "I still don 't understand," Subaru said. "When did we become enemies?"
"Hm. Did you hear about any 'strange weather' near Marzol the other night?" Kouné asked meaningfully. "Or the strange incident in Ivida?"
Subaru frowned. "Are you referring to when the undead attacked the city?" He asked in a cold voice.
"That's the one! Almost an entire Undying Legion was wiped out!" Kouné laughed, but her eyes were as hard as ice. "Her Ladyship was wondering if you knew anything about it."
Sounds like Sphinx really is behind all this. Or at least she wants me to think that she is.
Could she be lying? Maybe … but what's the point of that?
If Sphinx is the one behind the rebels and the one raising the dead, then that means she is ultimately the person responsible for attacking that city and for Emilia getting hurt.
Not to mention burning down that village we found …
Subaru struggled to control his surge of temper. "I strongly suspect that 'her Ladyship' wouldn't have sent you here if she didn't already know the answer to that," He growled.
"Yeah…" Kouné murmured with a regretful expression. "Her Ladyship isn't super happy about all that stuff you've been doing."
"No kidding?" Subaru grated. "Because I'm not exactly super keen on what she's been doing either! Your 'lady' sent an army of living corpses to attack a city full of innocent people!"
Koun é's smile grew brittle. "Trust me, clear-skin, there were no saints in that city. Just soldiers reinforcing the Empire's iron fist."
"Innocent people got hurt," Subaru countered. "And I don't just mean the Vollachians."
"Oh? And who else got hurt in that attack?" Kouné asked skeptically.
"Someone extremely important to me got injured in that attack!" Subaru hissed. "We-"
"Subaru," Emilia murmured uncomfortably.
Subaru cut himself off. Koun é glanced back and forth between Subaru and Emilia.
Koun é made a face. "Look. It's war. People get hurt in the crossfire."
Subaru 's face twisted in disgust. "That's it ?! That 's all you have to say? "
"What do you want from me?" Kouné laughed, but her mirth didn't reach her eyes. "It's not like Empire is going out of its way to avoid casualties either!"
"Last I checked, the Empire wasn't burning down kholop villages just to get more corpses to resurrect!" Subaru said witheringly.
"Maybe you better check again, clear-skin," Kouné said, her smile growing strained.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean that it's the Empire burning down the villages, not us."
Subaru studied her. "And they're carrying off most of the corpses… why exactly?" He asked skeptically.
"To make us look bad. It's all a false flag operation to try and convince the kholops to be afraid of us."
"…Right," Subaru snorted. "Do you have any proof to back that claim up?"
"Why? You obviously didn't ask the Empire for any," Kouné's snorted.
Subaru gave her a stony look.
"Think about it, clear-skin," Kouné's said mockingly. "What possible reason would the Rebellion have for burning down whole villages? It just makes us look terrible, and it undercuts our appeal to the kholops. It wouldn't even make any sense! Corpses aren't exactly a scarce resource in Vollachia, you know, and burning down villages to get new corpses is a dumb idea anyway because heat makes bones brittle. We'd just be harvesting deficient bodies."
Subaru frowned, mulling that over. Actually … that does make a certain amount of sense.
I remember all the reasons that Felt pointed out why the rebels burning that village wouldn 't have added up. And beyond that, the way that the effigy of the Horned Witch survived the fire despite sitting right in the middle of town does seem suspicious. And if Sphinx was going to attack villages, I assume she'd at least be smart enough to attack the villages loyal to the other side.
Maybe I was too quick to assume that Tob was telling me the truth. I don 't think he was lying to me, but just because he was repeating what he'd been told doesn't mean that it's true.
Honestly, I shouldn 't even be surprised, given what I've heard about the Empire back in Lagunica. But that still doesn't make me like the rebellion much more. Sphinx tried to attack a city full of innocent people without a word of warning. I'm pretty sure that's a war crime.
"You know," Kouné drawled. "You've only been in the Empire for a few days, and you've already seriously disrupted the Lady's plans. First, you almost wiped out the Undead Legion at Ivida, and then there was the incident at Marzol."
Subaru frowned. "What incident at Marzol?" He asked in confusion.
Koun é's giggled. "Come on!" She said knowingly, "Her Ladyship heard all about how you ended the drought in the immediate region. And, wow! That was really impressive, by the way, " She said with a laugh that didn't reach her eyes.
Subaru 's eyes narrowed. "And your lady has some sort of objection to this? " Subaru asked in a near growl.
"Well… actually, she kind of does," Kouné said regretfully.
Subaru 's eyes flashed.
"Now, don't get me wrong," Kouné said at once. "Her Ladyship has no interest in seeing innocent people starve! But she had invested a lot of time and money into helping those people survive over the years, and she was hoping that all those efforts would eventually receive… I guess I'd call it… a return on investment.
"Before you showed up, the whole province was poised to start supporting her Ladyship in the war openly, and then, bang, the drought is all over, and her stream of recruits dries up! Even some of the people already working with the rebellion are starting to have second thoughts and talking about going home.
"I think that you can kind of see the Lady's concerns. In just a few days, you've radically disrupted her plans. If Ivida had been destroyed and if the Westfold had openly aligned with her, her Ladyship was prepared to march on the Crystal Palace! The war would have been over! Now, you've personally breathed new life into the Empire and given them the strength to keep fighting. Her Ladyship is… less than thrilled with the current state of affairs," Kouné ended in a pained tone.
Subaru ground his teeth. "So… let me get this straight… Sphinx is mad because I blocked an attack on a city full of unarmed people, I destroyed a legion of the undead before they could murder folks, and I ended a drought, stopping people in the immediate area from starving to death. Is that about right?"
Koun é's smile grew strained. "OK. I see what you're trying to say here."
"Do you?"
Koun é's eyes glittered. "You really shouldn 't be so eager to antagonize the Lady, clear-skin. You might need her help sooner than you think."
Subaru took a deep breath and let it out slowly, struggling not to simply strangle this belligerent bunny. "And what exactly does Sphinx want with me?" He asked, fighting to sound polite.
Koun é's smile fell off completely, and she glowered at Subaru. "The Lady sent me here to offer you an alliance, clear-skin," She grated, the words coming out through clenched teeth.
"Hey," Garfiel growled. "Call my friends that again, and I'll smear you all over the wall."
Koun é gave Garfiel a dirty look. "Hey! Who 's side are you on? "
"My friends' side," Garfiel grated. "And you keep calling them names."
Felt looked less offended than baffled. "Yeah, do you always open diplomatic negotiations by using ethnic slurs? " She asked incredulously.
"What sort of alliance?" Subaru interjected before Kouné could respond.
Koun é fumed. "The Lady," She said reluctantly, "Believes that the two of you have a lot of common goals. You both know what it's like to suffer from the abuses of careless witches. She believes that you could got a long way toward convincing Lagunicans to support the Alliance. She'd also be most gratified if you would refrain from sabotaging her interests in the Empire. This isn 't really a region that you've ever shown any real interest in. She honestly doesn't understand what your concerns are down in Vollachia."
Subaru scratched his chin. "She makes a valid point," He admitted. "Although, I think that I could ask a similar question: What the hell is she doing down here? "
Koun é shrugged. "The same thing that we always do everything. Fighting injustice and trying to overcome tyranny! And you have to admit that the Empire is one of the biggest sources of tyranny in the modern world."
"I do know that," Subaru agreed. "I guess I'm just a little surprised that this particular injustice caught her attention. My understanding was that the plight of demi-humans in the empire wasn't too bad."
"Well, you're half right," Kouné said with a wry smile. "If you're a big, strong demi-human, you'll do just fine in the Empire. If you're a weak demi-human like myself, Vollachia might be the worst place in the world to be. After all, we can't all be like Garfiel or his sister Fredericka."
Garfiel started at hearing his sister 's name.
Subaru glowered at Koun é, who met his gaze with a friendly smile.
That was a threat as clear as day.
"Besides," Kouné continued, "The Lady thinks that there could be value in rescuing weak and disadvantaged humans as well. You're not all against us, after all. We should be able to make common cause against mutual oppressors. So, what should I tell her about your reason for being in Vollachia?"
Subaru gave Koun é a withering look, not willing to let her threat be forgotten so easily.
I don 't know how much of this I can blame on Sphinx, but Kouné is a lousy diplomat. She's been insulting from the start and she already made a threat when there was absolutely no reason to do so. You don't start threatening people while they still seem willing to consider cooperating. It sabotages your own efforts.
If Kouné's threat was made with Sphinx's blessing, then Sphinx is already threatening us, and that doesn't make me optimistic that we could form any sort of mutually beneficial deal. If Sphinx doesn't know about how Kouné's acting, then she just picked a really crappy diplomat for an important meeting. Either way, I don't think this reflects well on her.
He took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "We're only here temporarily," He growled. "The Emperor invited us here to negotiate over the acquisition of certain information of interest to us."
"Really? Whatever could that be?" Kouné asked guilelessly.
Subaru briefly considered telling Sphinx what they wanted, wondering if she might make him a counteroffer and give him what he needed just to get him out of Vollachia that much faster.
He thought about it, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
I don 't know what Sphinx's game is here. She might agree to help us, or she might try to sabotage us. What Garf and Felt told me about their meeting with Sphinx does not fill me with confidence that the woman would be a faithful partner in any endeavor.
"That's not really important right now," Subaru said. "What is important is that we intend to get the information we need and then remove ourselves from the Empire."
"Well, that does sound fair enough," Kouné said thoughtfully. "But there is one problem. What exactly does the Emperor want in exchange for this information?"
"He hasn't told us that yet."
"Hm. I feel like the Lady might have some valid concerns that his price for sharing this information with you might be to perform some actions that would be adverse to her own interests."
Subaru made a face. "I suppose that is possible, " He admitted.
Koun é laughed. "I'd argue that it's more than possible! I dare say that's the only reason that Vincent would have sought you out!" She said sweetly.
She let the words hang there.
"And, what would you propose?" Subaru asked pointedly.
"Well… I'm just thinking out loud here but I think that everyone's needs would be best served if you just removed yourself from the Empire as quickly as possible. I hear that Outou is nice this time of year."
"Unfortunately," Subaru said with an edge in his voice. "I'm currently wanted Dead or Alive in Kararagi so Outou is a nonstarter. Not to mention Lagunica and Gusteko both want my head as well."
"Hm. Yes, I suppose that would complicate things," Kouné murmured, not sounding especially concerned.
Subaru scowled at her. "So I hope that 'Her Ladyship' will understand that departing from the Empire at this time would be rather difficult," He growled.
"Yes, I see that," Kouné said, deep in thought. "Well, perhaps the Lady could be of assistance here. She does have connections all across the continent. She could easily assist you and your companions in relocating if the two of you had… an understanding."
"What sort of 'understanding?'"
Koun é tried to give him another sweet smile, but this time, it looked more like a grimace. "Her Ladyship thinks that the two of you could become powerful allies. She can certainly assist your group in relocation and searching for whatever it is that you're looking for. She also knows that you need instruction in managing your powers. She could be a most effective teacher."
Subaru frowned. Actually … That's not an altogether crazy idea. Of course, I'd need to see some good faith from Sphinx first. Kouné is being completely transparent that Sphinx hopes to manipulate us for her own benefit. That might still be acceptable if we get enough out of this bargain, but we'd need more information about what Sphinx wants first.
"And what would she want in return?" Subaru asked.
"Your assistance would greatly benefit the Alliance in its future plans," Kouné said with a transparently forced cheerfulness. "And you'd be at her right hand when the spoils were divided. If, for any reason, the relationship between humans and demi-humans were to… sour again, her Ladyship thinks you could go a long way toward convincing everyone to try… a new approach toward resolving racial relations and social problems."
No surprise there. Sphinx must still have her eyes set on Lagunica. It 's the Alliance's natural breeding ground. And if I started trying to rally folks to the Alliance's standard, people would probably at least listen. With Sphinx and the Alliance's assistance, Garfiel's idea of going back to Lagunica and trying to reform the country might be feasible. We could try to reshape the kingdom into something more egalitarian. Maybe even dissolve the monarchy and create a representative government. And we could implement reforms to improve the lives of demi-humans and peasants.
On the other hand, do I really want to spend the rest of my life trying to reform the kingdom? I don 't think that Emilia would enjoy that role very much. And I know that I wouldn 't enjoy it.
And do I even really need Sphinx 's help with anything at this point? I have the talisman. It might even make me a match for Red once I get some more practice with it.
Well, that 's probably still a bit overconfident. I'd need a lot of practice before I'd have any chance of even slowing down someone like Red or Regulus. And even once I reach that point, I'd still be just one man. An army of reformers would still be needed if I wanted to change Lagunica and it's not impossible Sphinx could provide that. But I still don't know about this idea. From everything that Felt and Garfiel told me, Sphinx seems to be a demi-human supremacist, and just switching which race is on top doesn't strike me as all that much of an improvement. There might be room to negotiate with her and decide on a mutual goal we could pursue together, but figuring that out will take time.
Koun é's eyes narrowed. "The Lady also bid me to remind you that your most dangerous enemy is closer than you know. They already move behind the scenes, moving and manipulating your foes against you from the shadows. My Lady knows her ways well. None better. The Lady may be your only means to escape the web that already tightens around you," She finished meaningfully.
Subaru just stared at her. My enemy is closer than I think? Who is she talking about? I have plenty of enemies, but the only one I 'm worried might try to outsmart me is Roswaal. Regulus and Capella are more likely to just try to smash me. And I don't think Lye could sneak anywhere if his life depended on it.
Wait, Koun é said 'she.' OK, so not Roswaal.
She might be talking about Kor ë. I have no idea if she's an ally or an enemy, but she certainly isn't a friend, and she's clearly hoping to manipulate me.
Then again, if this foe she 's talking about really is 'moving behind the scenes,' then there's a good chance that I haven't even encountered them yet. Assuming that Sphinx isn't just making this whole thing up just to rattle me.
Even assuming for the moment that Sphinx is trying to be straight with me, I don 't understand whatever message she's trying to send.
Subaru waited, but Koun é didn't add anything more. She just sat there, her expectant expression slowly turning awkward and uncertain.
Huh. I 'm guessing that Sphinx told her to say that line, assuming that I'd know what it meant and react appropriately. It seems like Kouné doesn't know how to proceed now since I didn't take the bait.
"I'm willing… to consider the possibility of an alliance," Subaru said slowly. "But there's a lot to unpack here. Sphinx and I would need to negotiate and decide what we're each willing to do to help each other and how far we're willing to go. I'm not agreeing to anything at the moment. But if Sphinx wants to come back with a suggestion for an area of mutual interest where we could cooperate, I'm willing to consider it."
Koun é's face grew flat, and her feigned jocularity vanished like a mirage. "You're willing to consider it? " She echoed in a hiss.
Subaru studied her reaction. "Yes," He said slowly.
Koun é's smile returned, but it was flat and brittle. "Ah. Typical humans. Always thinking that you can ask us to wait for our desire for freedom and justice to be 'more convenient.'"
Subaru 's eyes narrowed. "I'm negotiating with Sphinx here. Not with the whole demi-human populace. This has nothing to do with my opinions on demi-humans or my stance on demi-human rights. "
"Oh, no! Of course not!" Kouné said cheerfully, although her eyes were wild. "Don't think that you can refuse Sphinx's offer without consequences, clear-skin. There are more varieties of magic in this world than you've ever dreamed of. This is a limited-time offer. Once Sphinx gets her hands on the First Emperor's weapon, she won't have any use for you anymore! You can either join with Sphinx or fall like all of the other clear-skins who oppose her. But make no mistake, the new order is coming, and you're either with us or you're against us."
Subaru scowled. "I think that I've heard quite enough out of you," He growled. "Tell Sphinx that we're still willing to listen to any offers that she makes. But tell her to send a different negotiator next time!"
Koun é snarled at him. She got up and stormed out of the inn, slamming the door behind her.
The inn was absolutely silent for a moment, even the innkeeper and all the other patrons looking up at the sound of the slamming door, wondering what was going on.
"Well," Garfiel murmured, "That didn't go very well."
"No, it didn't," Subaru admitted. "And I can't get a handle on Sphinx's intentions. Kouné started the conversation with a thinly veiled threat. That's not usually the strategy you use when you're still hoping to make a deal with someone."
"Well, the Alliance isn't what it used to be, Subaru," Felt replied thoughtfully. "Gramps says that after the war, almost everyone who wasn't a die-hard fanatic deserted. They could see the writing on the wall and nobody wants to die for a lost cause."
"Maybe. But in Abiate, I got the sense that might be changing," Garfiel added. "It sounds like Sphinx has recently stepped up her recruiting efforts."
Subaru made a face. "And something tells me that everything we've done since I came to this world has just thrown fuel on the fire," He murmured to Emilia.
Emilia bowed her head.
"It's not your fault, Subaru," Felt said at once. "You convinced the demi-humans that there was hope that things could be better. No matter what comes afterward, don't apologize for doing that."
Subaru gave her a half smile. "Thanks, Felt. But Mili is really the one who deserves the credit for that."
Emilia blinked in surprise. Subaru smiled at her, and she flushed.
"What was that weapon that she mentioned?" Garfiel asked.
"I don't know," Subaru admitted. "But I'll say this much: Kouné is a terrible diplomat."
"What do you mean?" Emilia asked.
"She made threats when there was no reason to," Felt interjected. "That might work as a tactic if you're way stronger than the person you're talking to, but extortion doesn't normally make for strong alliances. And I don't think that there's any way that Sphinx wanted her to mention that weapon or Sphinx's future plans to us. I think that Kouné just blew her top when we didn't fall all over ourselves to align with Sphinx, and she started saying things she wasn't supposed to say."
"I wonder why she sent Kouné to negotiate," Subaru muttered. "Sphinx must have access to better diplomats than that."
"Maybe not," Felt countered. "Like I said, after the war ended, the remaining Alliance members were mostly just fanatics, and fanatics don't negotiate. Kouné might be a good spy or saboteur or whatever else she does for the Alliance, but she clearly isn't good at being a diplomat."
"Should we be worried about this weapon thing?" Garfiel asked again. "It sounded like it could be a big deal. Unless Kouné was just baiting us."
Subaru made a face. "I don't know. Garf, have you ever heard any history books about that 'First Emperor' she mentioned?"
"I'm not sure. Marius the Unifier was the progenitor of the Vollachian Empire in the same way as Hoshin of the Wilds is credited with creating Kararagi. Maybe that's who she meant."
"Did he have some sort of magic weapon?" Felt asked.
"Not that I ever heard of," Garfiel shrugged.
Subaru sighed. "Well. Let's not worry about this for the moment. We already have bigger problems than chasing after hints and rumors provided by someone who clearly wants to manipulate us."
"I think we should probably keep all this to ourselves," Emilia added. "I doubt Brador would be happy to find out we were talking to Sphinx's emissary."
Subaru nodded. "And I think Vincent would be even angrier. You're right. Let's keep this to ourselves. It's not like we agreed to anything. If Sphinx comes back with a new offer, we'll consider it when it comes."
"Yeah but maybe we should be careful to watch our backs in the meantime," Felt worried. "If Kouné's behavior is anything to go by, Sphinx might think that she can just keep putting pressure on us until we cave in. We should keep our eyes open just in case Sphinx's next 'offer' is a violent one."
"Good idea," Subaru admitted.
Felt shook her head. "It's too bad that those negotiations went so badly. Whether we want to or not, we're really starting to act like we're on Vincent's team in this mess, and I'm not so sure that we want to be."
"Yeah, we don't know who the good guys are yet," Garfiel agreed.
Felt gave him a sour look. "Garf, this is geopolitics, not a fairytale! The world isn't broken down between 'good guys' and 'bad guys.' Both sides in this fight could utterly suck!"
"And they probably both do," Subaru added. "We saw with our own eyes that Sphinx is willing to attack unarmed people. I don't know if Kouné was telling the truth about that burned-out village, but from what Garf has read about how the Imperial army treats kholops, I guess I wouldn't be too surprised. We should probably try to come up with more unbiased information before we make any big decisions. I-" He cut himself off as one of the inn's maids appeared to refill their drinks. She was a young woman with short brown hair. She wore an apron over a plain dress.
Subaru 's eyes narrowed, and he studied the maid carefully. "Excuse me, miss. What's your name?"
The maid jerked upright and looked startled. "Debra," She said in a nervous voice.
I get the funny feeling that she thinks I 'm about to ask for a very personal favor… Subaru thought with distaste. Oh well. I guess I may as well press forward.
"Look, Debra," Subaru said casually. "We wanted to go up to the sitting room. Is there any chance you could bring a few bottles of wine and serve us up there?"
Debra studied the group for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Of course. I'll be right up."
Debra looked uncertain as she walked off.
"I don't know if I want to drink much more, Captain," Garfiel said.
"This isn't about drinking, fleabag," Felt sighed. "Subaru is going to pump the girl for information about the Empire and the rebels."
Garfiel squinted at him. "What makes you think she knows anything?" He asked skeptically.
"She may not," Subaru admitted. "But she's another source of information. And as far as I can tell, she also has no reason to lie to us. So, maybe we can get a clearer picture of what's going on than Brador and Tob were willing to show us. Let's head up to the sitting room."
The group got up from the table. On the balcony overlooking the tab room, a hooded figure watched them move toward the stairs, and then it faded silently back into the shadows.