Chapter 62: StrikeDay 74

  I’m such a wonderful person for comforting Roxanne like this. Ah, the sacrifices I make to keep everyone happy. Of course, I can’t say such silly things out loud because the others might actually agree.

  “We’re making fantastic progress on Curatar’s Labyrinth. This floor has a special challenge. Sherry has made something to help us.”

  Sherry passes out her crafted items. “The 37th floor has Beep Sheep, which have the Sleep skill. Anyone who falls asleep can be easily woken with one of these Waking Sticks. Just a gentle tap on the shoulder should be enough.”

  “Thanks, Sherry. I’ll keep an eye on Sherry and Marcus and they’ll watch the rest. That way, we’ll mainly just check the ones in front of us. As the one furthest back, I have resistance so I should be fine. Just check back occasionally so I don’t get left behind.”

  No one ughed. I guess that’s good.

  “I agreed to meet Mirable over lunch. Well, at least if she shows up.”

  Even quieter after that comment. Tap tap, is this thing on?

  We gear up and go to Curatar’s Labyrinth. Alina and Theo were in charge of interrupting the sheep, though many of them were stunned or petrified before they could try to cast their spells. I bsted off Water Storm attacks against the spiders but Sherry managed to get poisoned anyway. I jumped forward to quickly administer the antidote before anyone else noticed her status. Of course they saw the kiss so they either figured it out or just ignored my eccentric behavior.

  I take everyone home for lunch so they won’t have to deal with the temptation to spy on me, assuming there will be anything to see. Even if Mirable wanted to come, other appointments could interfere. It’s not like we could confirm by texting. I wonder if there are any long-distance communication devices here? Oh, here she comes.

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  “Hello, Mirable. Gd you could make it.”

  “Thanks for trusting that I would, David. I was so nervous, I even doubted myself.”

  “Well, let’s just sit down and talk a while. Would it help if your guards were a bit closer?”

  “My guards? You noticed them?”

  “Were they trying to hide? I mean, they’re staring right at us.”

  “Sorry, David. I guess you figured out that I’m not a commoner.”

  “Not necessarily. They could be overprotective cousins for all I know. Just don’t ask me to bow or call you ‘dy’ at this point.”

  “You’re presuming that I have a higher rank?”

  “That’s easy since I’m a commoner.”

  “What? You sure look like a noble.”

  “Says the woman who mistook me for an elf.”

  “Ha ha, got me there.”

  “By the way, are elves less intimidating?”

  “No elf would be attracted to me. You’re trying to change the subject. Were you born a noble or did your House fall earlier?”

  “No noble heritage I’m aware of.”

  “Alright, then how did you make that reckless noble run away? Are you connected to an important house?”

  “No, he ran off to get reinforcements to have me arrested.”

  “What? Oh my goodness, that’s awful. How did you get away?”

  “His daddy, a baron, quickly dismissed the case. In fact, he even asked me to come visit socially.”

  “I completely fell for that story. OK, what really happened?”

  “That’s exactly what happened. Nobles are very interested in me.”

  “It’s fine, David. I’ll stop asking.”

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  A familiar voice joins in. “Lord Moreau, I’m so happy to have found you before the ceremony.”

  “Oh, hello Lady Rutina. This is Mirable.”

  With light teasing, Mirable says, “Aha! I knew it! Lord Moreau just got caught.”

  “No, the title is strictly ornamental. Only nobles call me that.”

  “David, you’re taking this joke too far.”

  Rutina excims, “Oh my goodness, Lord Moreau, is this your fiancée? Can I tell my sister?”

  “No, Lady Rutina, we are not engaged. Far from it, actually.”

  “Lord Moreau! How terrible of you to toy with a girl’s feelings.”

  “If anything, Mirable is toying with my feelings.”

  Mirable defends, “Hey, that’s not nice.”

  “Sorry, I was just being silly. To crify, Mirable isn’t interested in me romantically.”

  Rutina’s mood suddenly darkens, “This woman is rejecting you?”

  “Well, maybe not me specifically.”

  “Lord Moreau, you should not waste time on a woman who doesn’t appreciate you!”

  “Demoiselle! What has gotten into you? Mirable is my friend.”

  “Sorry for raising my voice, Lord Moreau. I guess you’re busy. Could we arrange a time to talk soon?”

  “Sure, in about two weeks.”

  “It’s urgent and Cassia already went home.”

  “Fine. Tomorrow morning, at the byrinth, not the castle.”

  “Thank you, Lord Moreau. Have a nice conversation with your friend.”

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  “Wow, I’ve never seen Rutina act that way before. She was like an overprotective mother.”

  “David, what did you call her earlier?”

  “Huh? Oh, it just means ‘young noble’.”

  “It seems very strange that you would call her that.”

  “It’s not an affectionate name, not that I would need to expin myself to a friend.”

  “Of course not. That’s not what I meant.”

  “Mirable, I don’t like being mistrusted. I’ve been completely honest and you’ve told me practically nothing. For this to work, you’ll need to share a part of yourself too. If you think you can do that, meet me here again in a few days.”

  “Alright, David. I’m sorry for being so awkward. If you’re willing to try again, I’ll see you here in three days.”

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  Rutina can sure act weird at times. Mirable got sort of strange at the end too. Is she jealous of Rutina? Well, we certainly do seem awfully familiar with each other and that could easily be misinterpreted. Of course, I don’t need to expin myself to someone who is barely a casual friend. Rutina had a point too. Mirable is nice, but I can’t invest too much effort into a doomed retionship. If Mirable can’t at least open up to the level of friendship, our next meeting should be our st.

  On that topic, how much trust is necessary in a retionship? A friend might only be known within a limited context, like work. I’ve assumed that a romantic retionship should leave nothing hidden. Maybe my view is too narrow. A wife who remains separate from my party could still be someone important to me. We don’t actually have to spend 24/10 together. [1]

  Well, whatever. Even if I fail, I can just remain the lecher that I am. Now that I’ve properly insuted myself from the possibility of failure with another human, it’s time to get back to work. Fortunately, my disastrous date with Mirable was rather brief. I bought a meat-skewer, ducked around a corner and opened a portal back home.

  The party got ready quickly and we returned to the 37th floor. It was nice to clear my mind and just bst away the fake monsters. Theo collected the nice wool drops — I wonder if Sherry could use it for crafting? Capes don’t auto-fit so they’re probably made by hand, or at least in some non-magical way.

  Speaking of Sherry, why is she slumped over like that? Oh right, she’s been hit by a sleep spell. I pull out my waking stick and tap Sherry on the shoulder. Cool, it really works. That was also a reminder for me to keep focused. This isn’t the right time to zone out. Hmm, now that I think about it, I don’t have anything for chant interruption other than switching to Durandal. Better yet, we could put that on the dagger Sherry made for me.

  Now Marcus is asleep. Seriously people, pay attention. A little tap and he’s back now. Anyway, where was I? Right. What if I threw a weapon with Chant Interruption? Would it work? A dagger would be possible but maybe only the bde holds the skill. How about a shuriken? Yes, that’d be cool. I wonder if Sherry could craft a non-standard item like that.

  Ooh, a treasure chest — just goes to show what can be found while paying attention. Weird how this lump on the floor transtes to chest. Cut-cut. Nice, got a pair of steel-shod boots. Oops, better catch up and maybe toss more Water Storm attacks. Oh, here’s the waiting room. That was easy. No other parties are here so in we go. Let’s see, what are these things called?

  I call out, “Wait a moment everybody. Don’t attack yet.”

  Theo asks, “Boss, are they actually asleep?”

  “Yes, I think they are. Identify calls them Sleep Sheep and that’s exactly what they look like.” [2]

  Sherry says, “Sorry, I read about them but I thought it was a joke.”

  “Let’s try to take one at a time, but be ready for the other to wake up.”

  We partially surround the first to not have anyone’s back to the other boss. A few quick hits and it’s immediately petrified.

  “Well, that sure was easy. Leave it for now and get ready for the other one.”

  The next one gets stunned, recovers, gets stunned again and then poofs. We finish off the first one as well and then we’re done.

  “That was way too easy. Maybe they have some incredibly powerful magic or something. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind fighting more bosses like that.”

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  Back home at dinner, Alina asks, “So, David, how did it go with Mirable?”

  “Not great, not terrible. Rutina showed up and it got awkward.”

  “That’s too bad, David. I guess Rutina got jealous, huh? Elves are like that.”

  “No, but she defended me rather aggressively. It was weird. Anyway, Rutina said that the duchess went back to Bode and asked if I’d drop by.”

  “It doesn’t sound like you should be alone with her.”

  “Agreed, though maybe not for the same reason. We’ll meet in Nordselm. We may as well go to the byrinth afterwards.”

  “That sounds safest.”

  “Also, I found some boots a bit before the boss room. They’re heavy so maybe Marcus or Sherry could use them.”

  Sherry replies, “Size adjustment can only go so far. Those are way too big for me.”

  Marcus tries them on and approves. They really do seem to suit him.

  That night, Sherry adds poison resistance to her leather cap.

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  Day 75

  “Good morning everybody. We’ll go to Nordselm Vilge this morning to see what Rutina is so anxious to talk about. Afterwards, we’ll go to the byrinth. Since we’re already a full party, Rutina cannot join. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I could break that rule. Well, I probably shouldn’t.”

  Sherry mutters, “Please don’t try.”

  We went to the vilge after breakfast. No ambushes by Gosr or brigands detected — not that any were expected. We waited in the light rain until Rolf’s portal brought Rutina and a few guards. Good that they didn’t just dump Rutina on us. We went to our usual spot in Bernhard’s hut and Rutina’s guards waited outside. Bernhard was probably out in the fields somewhere.

  “Hello, Lord Moreau. Thanks for agreeing to meet.”

  “Good morning, Demoiselle. I’d like to introduce you to our newest member, Roxanne.”

  “Hello, Roxanne. I hope to work with you if I ever have the privilege to be in a party with Lord Moreau again.”

  Roxanne responds formally, “Yes, Lady Rutina, it would be an honor.”

  “So, Demoiselle, what do you need?”

  “Can I still depend on having Marcus and Theo join me?”

  The guys nod.

  “Yes, as agreed. Of course, I trust that no one will try to force them to reveal any secrets.”

  “Not from my side, though I can’t control Gosr directly.”

  “Good enough. I’ll take care of Gosr if he causes trouble.”

  “Please don’t say things like that. Anyway, it would be nice if Marcus and Theo could move to Amanhof before the ceremony.”

  “Huh?”

  “They’ll need a few days to learn Elvish and settle in.”

  Theo nods and tells Marcus to do the same. I guess ‘Amanhof’ must be reted to their housing.

  “Sure. We could talk about their gear then too. None of it needs to held back.”

  “Wonderful. Lord Moreau, I want to formally invite you and your party to my investiture as the next Count of Selmer.”

  “Are you sure about that? Your family doesn’t like me and don’t want to intrude.”

  “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, Lord Moreau. Please come anyway. It’s important to me.”

  “Alright, I’ll come.”

  “Cassia won’t bother you and the duke has promised to stop trying to recruit you.”

  “I’ll do my best to behave.”

  “And the st little detail is that I wish to award you with my emblem. Before you ask, it comes with no obligations and few benefits.”

  “Good that you warned me. I’ve read about this sort of thing and will gdly accept the honor.”

  “Whew, thanks. Here’s a written invitation. Would it be alright to bring Marcus and Theo one week from today?”

  “Yes, we’ll come to the castle.”

  “Wonderful. There’s another thing to discuss. It’s kind of personal.”

  The others left the hut before I could ask.

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  “Alright, Demoiselle, what is it?”

  “Gosr discovered that my father ordered Brunhild to get rid of you.”

  “That’s not too surprising. He really didn’t seem to like me.”

  “Well, I’m not sure he liked me either. Father felt certain that you had, um, ruined me. Maybe he wanted to get rid of both of us to avoid the scandal.”

  “Oh, Demoiselle, I’m sorry that you had to even consider such a possibility. Brunhild was very protective of you so I doubt you were ever her target. Remember when she yelled at that child? Brunhild wasn’t faking it.”

  “That’s a good point. I thought you’d tried to convince me of how my father couldn’t have done that.”

  “No, he really could have. It’s just unlikely that he did.”

  “Der Swearte is terrible. Still, it’s undeniable that I wouldn’t have survived that ambush. I think both of us were meant to die.”

  “Brunhild was very friendly with the brigands. Maybe the pn was to kill or capture me so Brunhild could pretend to save you from my treachery. That’s pretty much what she said even after the pn failed.”

  “I don’t know. Would the brigands just let me go?”

  “Nope, not a chance. Not even Brunhild would have survived. I never said she was smart. Um, sorry to be so blunt.”

  “You’re just being honest. Well, I should let you go now.”

  “What about the kidnapping attempt?”

  “Turned out to be nothing. Just some fool wanting revenge for Brunhild.”

  “Well, the kidnappers were quite well informed for not even recognizing you. Maybe someone fed them information.”

  “You are so cruel, Sweart, to crush my hopes so soon. Alright, I’ll talk to Gosr.”

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  [1] Local version of 24/7.[2] Sleep Sheep are described in the WN, not the LN.