Act II: Ameshin Loyalty

Chapter 7 – Ominous Tells

9:17 // Day 22, Sonntag. Luna 97c.

"Isa, Rex. You two take some other members and head to the outskirts of the city, if you learn about any more sightings, contact me instantly, I’ll come down myself once everything is sorted here."

"Understood."

In perfect unison, the large, red-headed man and the fair-haired woman turned back towards the bustling canteen. I came trailing into the guild, not moments before the exchange, greeted by the sight of Kai and his party in a frantic array. The entire guild was consumed by huge masses of adventurers flowing in and out, a view which I had not been privy to before this day.

I made my way towards Kai, hoping to report the previous events: mainly the monsters but also the close death of an important noble. I had only just learned this, but adventurer’s guilds also acted in the interest of the royal families since most were funded by an individual family. In return, the guild would complete work in their interests (I’m sure this isn’t limited to ‘legal’ work either) so it was only natural that I included that detail in my report.

"White. I don’t mean to sound rude, but we’ve got a lot on our plate right now; you’d best come back another day."

Taking a double-take, it became obvious that my predicament wasn’t exclusive to myself. Enryn was right to be worried.

"It’s not monsters seemingly appearing from thin air, is it?"

Kai let out a worried expression, though it was obvious that he had worn it for the majority of this morning.

"Hmm... it’s obvious that you are alright but what happened?"

"Well, it was only about a half-hour ago..." Beginning to recount the event, I condensed the main information into a one-minute speech. This wasn't the time for storytelling, Kai was in a moderate panic – something I hadn’t seen before.

"Wait, wait. Do you mean Elise Calsia? You didn't hear that incorrectly, right?"

"Y-Yeah, she had a butler with her named Alfred Sericanthe. She had black hair, with grey streaks, and bright blue eyes. She can't have been much older than me."

"Shit, goddammit... What happened to her guard?"

"There wasn’t one, at least, not when I got there. Sara never mentioned a guard to me, though it was extremely sudden so she could have forgotten."

Kai was about to burst out in anger. Though, only for a moment, quickly regaining his usual composure. I’d like to say that it took a lot to intimidate me but, only for a moment, just then, I’d never been so far from my comfort zone.

"Right... Well, we had better hope that you made a good impression. The Calsian’s are this guild’s benefactor, if they find out that their heir was attacked, thankfully not killed, within our territory, we’re done." Kai spoke truthfully to me, there was no reason to hide the simple fact that this situation had been made a thousand times worse than it already was. "I just don’t understand why she had no guard. Usually, the Calsian’s would contact us directly via letter or falcon... I can't comprehend why they would leave without an escort."

Gods, it’s lucky that I arrived when I did. I highly doubt that Elise would disown the guild, especially not with Alfred present at least. I’m starting to see the link between Enryn and the Calsians, though I hope he doesn’t do anything we’ll regret while delivering Elise home... I’m glad I didn’t mention that detail in my previous report.

A moment of silence passed before Kai finally resumed his questioning.

"White, you didn’t mention the species you encountered."

I only just noticed after seeing Kai ready to write with his ball-point pen, but in front of him was a large piece of paper with numerous tables and species of monsters scrawled neatly along the sides.

We'd moved over to Kai's tablet. Well, I say Kai's table, it's not actually his, it's just the table which himself and his party seem to inhabit the most and, since he is the guild leader, I imagine he has undisputed rule over its usage. Though, plenty of outsider's drink and eat here so there's room for error in this table's usage.

"Five Misdlan Hermits, they seemed average build wise but seemed to have intelligence outside of their primitive instincts, though not much."

"Uh-huh, most reports seem to say the same thing, minus the species of monster... Still, it’s good that we have a small ray of light in this situation."

"What do you mean?" Confused, I wondered how a noble being attacked by common monsters inside the city could get any worse.

"You see. Well, this is only based on Isa’s assessment of your skills but you shouldn't have had much issue with the Hermits, right?"

That's right, Kai and myself have only sparred the once so he's mostly in the dark about my improvements. Though, I have been following Isa’s tutelage, along with Enryn's, the past month; unfortunately, she told Kai since I was planning to surprise him in a later rematch. I suppose now isn’t the time to worry about such minor things.

"No. They weren’t much trouble... You’re not about to say what I think you are, are you?"

"You got lucky, White. Some people have encountered; Golems, Elementals, Lesser Drakes, Aeravens, Zoroanstra, Silcarians, Major Eostrix, Gallinualese. The list goes on and on. I’m just glad that Elise happened to be ambushed outside your house and with a smaller force."

"Ambushed...? You think that someone is behind this?"

Kai wore an expression that told me to keep my voice down before I had even begun to reply. I supposed it was the only logical answer, the majority of the creatures that had been sighted were typically ones that lived their lives on instinct alone. They weren’t capable of planning something like this themselves, never mind working with other species.

Both of us leaning a bit closer, at least out of immediate hearing range, I added.

"Do you think someone... mass teleported them?"

"It’s likely. I’m just concerned about how precise some of these incidents are, like yours. I find it unlikely that a seemingly ‘random’ ability like Mass Teleportation could target one of the wealthiest members of royalty at the one time she’s unguarded, on a usually quiet street and at the specific time which she arrived. I can’t say for sure, but this isn’t a coincidence. That’s all I’m certain of."

"You're right, but why orchestrate all of this just to kill Elise? Surely, they would have sent their stronger forces directly to her..."

Suddenly, a switch flicked inside both of our minds. Looking at each other to see if we were both on the same page, Kai moved his table aside for a moment and moved to my side of the bench.

"We’re assuming that someone teleported these monsters, right? They might be able to control the location..."

"...but they can’t control the monster?... Is that right?"

Kai nodded in reply, glad that I could follow his train of thought. To which I responded.

"But that’s only true if these monsters were summoned specifically to attack Elise. And, if that was the case, then why even bother attacking everywhere else when they had the perfect chance to attack her there and then."

Almost instantly, the theory had come to a close – at least in my mind. It made no sense to attack multiple locations if their target was already secluded and they had knowledge of her route, it was surely; hook, line and sinker, right? Attacking in multiple places would only be good for distracting or...

"...covering up, how could I miss that."

It was still possible these attacks were meant to cover up Elise’s death. If she had been ‘accidentally’ caught in a string of global attacks then the culprit could cover their intentions perfectly. Which meant, if this was true, that someone who is openly against Elise must be targeting her.

"Kai, have you been in contact with the other guilds?"

"That I have."

Pulling out a small, slate, card; Kai checked the statistics once again. I’d seen him use the device when I first entered, it seemingly allowed long-distance communication to be possible via internal magic.

"Do you know how many attacks have been recorded in each region?"

"Yeah, it’s just updating now..." Impatiently tapping the small device, Kai waited for the words to update. I tried to read the words over Kai’s shoulder but I couldn’t understand them, it seemed similar to Dalaein (the most common language on most of the continents) but featured different letters. The only words I understood were on a column, which read; North, East, South and West. I had surmised that the other symbols were numbers but couldn’t decipher past that.

"78 reports in the north, 68 in the south, 51 in the west and 93 in the east... And these are only the ones accounted for, for all we know there are double those numbers."

So, it's not just the Northern Districts, it's the entire of Rubia. Now, this isn't concrete evidence, but the Capital is indescribably huge. The idea of sneaking in this number of monsters across the entire Capital is unthinkable, to be frank.

"There’s not been enough time to determine, to be completely honest. Not much we can do until we at least have somewhere to start looking for our Target X."

Kai sighed, which was, once again, something rare to see. It was clear that this situation wouldn’t be solved overnight, despite everyone’s wishes for such. He would just have to do his best to prevent further damages while the threat is ascertained.

"Sorry White, but I best be going. Thank you for this information, it's at least given me something to look into, though you best head home. I don't mean to offend you but if-"

"I know Kai, I’m just going to get a drink before heading back. I used a lot of mana before."

"Yeah... take your time. Stay on standby at home, I might need yourself and Enryn at some point." Issuing his final command, Kai quickly filled in his sheet of paper with the information I had told him – adding to the Misdlan Hermit’s tally while he remembered – then left for the lobby where further injury and ominous tells remained.

But before that, he looked back towards me and stated his final, final command.

"Actually, I think someone else was looking for you before. If they find you, perhaps stay awhile?"

Staying true to my word, I left my seat, heading over to the bar. As an official member of Eclipse, I could get free meals and drinks if I had completed work this Sixth Cycle. Unfortunately, I hadn’t so I would need to pay out of pocket.

My wages for jobs are not paid on completion, instead of being paid on every 15th day: known as the Sixth Cycle. Every two weeks, two cycles of Montag through Sonntag, adds up to 14 days. The only issue is, that every season is made up of 90 days. The solution seems fairly simple at first thought, but most 'solutions' made by different, sometimes notable, people were ill-received.

It was something to think about, at the very least something other than teleporting monsters.

Like it or not, this system was based on the premise that every 15th day would be one of celebration, rest, good fortune, you can call it whatever you want, but at the end of the day, it’s an overblown payday. That day is named Dalrend, a word combing the place where it is practised (The Pentas Dale) and ‘rend’ which is a word used in the original version of Whites’ Veil, used to describe, like previously mentioned, rest and good fortune.

"Just some water please, one faum leaf too."

Turning my attention to our barkeep, I placed my order. The bar itself was fairly quiet, lending me quick service when I arrived, something that I usually wasn’t blessed with. I was old enough to order at the bar, though that meant little when it was filled to the brim with drunk citizens and exhausted adventurers.

"You’ve come across some of those monsters?" Asking in a concerned, yet panic-free tone, the woman questioning me directly. She is somewhat imposing, if only because of her experience behind the bar. I’d spoken to her a few times, though only because I felt obliged to do so.

"How is it now? I've only heard what some of you adventurers have told me and some gossip from the girls since we’ve been told to stay put for now."

"Well, I’ve spoken to Kai about it and it’s not getting better. If anything, it’s getting worse..."

It was obvious after speaking with Kai that something was amiss. For all of the theories we crafted, we covered no ground other than confirming what we already knew. The only thing we’re sure about is that this is a ‘man-made’ incident. This fact couldn’t be leaked to the public, not yet at least. If it was and we had no one to point the blame towards, the potential for serious unrest in Rubia becomes a likely outcome.

I suppose, from the public’s perspective, if we don’t even know the enemy, how can we defeat them?

"Well, don’t worry pup. I’m sure everything is up in the air and if Kai wants the situation close to the vest, then who am I to argue. You don’t need to tell me everything."

"It's not that I can't tell you, Rebecca. We just don't know yet, I don't want to say anything that might cause panic."

"I understand, though I also understand that you’re not just here for your brawn..."

"Haha, you’re too kind Becca."

"Hmph." Rebecca replied in a mocking tone, acknowledging my feigned response as she placed the leaf inside the small, vase-like glass. "It's on the house since you almost died and all. Just tell me when you’re available, and bring the glass back if you’re leaving."

"I’m sorry, what?"

Pointing her large hand behind my back, the tanned Rebecca drew my gaze to the figure looming behind me.

"Erm, hi... White..."

Surprised to see her, though not disappointed one bit, Kyomi introduced herself. As always, she was the definition of Eastern beauty. She carried herself with such poise, not to mention being taller than myself. Her almond eyes and pointed ears gave her a ‘sharp’ look. Her long, black, hair gave her a commanding presence. And her arched eyebrows gave her a deadly stare.

Though, for some reason, that facade crumbles whenever she opens her mouth.

"May I ask, how long have you been there?" was the first thing I could think to say, honestly, I wasn't sure what to say. Kyomi had never spoken to me before, outside of courteous farewells and our initial meeting so it’s not like we had anything to talk about or, really any reason to talk.

"A good minute, White. I’m surprised you didn’t notice her. You are training in Cognitive Arts, right?" Rebecca chimed in, almost acting to cut off Kyomi’s response.

"Huh? How do you know that...?" Even before finishing the sentence I knew. "Enryn..."

"I... cut off my outside mana."

Being torn between the two, completely opposing women, I was beginning to feel exhausted fast. A good minute passed of this back and forth, revealing my itching suspicion about Enryn.

He’s been blagging about my private training on his nights out drinking, supposedly thinking that I’m ‘like a son to him’ when he gets drunk, which – according to him – gives him the right to tell everyone what I’m up to. Which – according to myself – doesn’t, but, oh well.

"Anyway, I should probably stop keeping you from your work. I need to get myself since I told Kai I would be on standby at home, not to mention I need to check on Sara."

"No problem pup, I’ll see you soon."

Finishing the last of the water, I turned to leave the guild. But then.

A hand gripped black vest, ushering me to look back. It was Kyomi, who hadn’t said a word besides her first two sentences, instead choosing to perch herself beside me and remain silent.

"Oh, sorry Kyomi. I completely... forgot you were there." I waited, mid animation, whilst I was getting up... but after a few seconds it started feeling awkward, so I sat back down. Kyomi looked directly towards me, before casting her gaze back down once I matched it. "What’s the matter?"

"Sorry... I, have something for you. Follow me."

Confused, I looked back to Rebecca who was still standing around, doing everything apart from working. The only input she had was a confused... wink?

"Well, lead on, I guess."

"Okay..."

"Have fun kids!" Rebecca jeered as we began to walk away, being in her late 30s barely permitted her to call anyone a ‘kid’, apart from an actual child, but I just ignored her taunts.

Kyomi and I headed back to reception, aiming for the same passageway I used to reach the fighting hall. As we left I swore I heard a tch from Rebecca’s direction, likely annoyed that we both ignored her farewell.

I had rarely taken the time to appreciate the craftsmanship that went into this once grand church; not to say that it isn’t still such, it’s just hidden behind the burly adventurers. The masonry and pattern-work make even the stone itself a sight to behold. The thick stone walls were not made entirely from stone as it featured wooden framework between the interior and exterior walls, meant to increase the width and protection of the building (Not to mention, places to hide valuables in case of an attack. Something that happened all too often to religious grounds.)

Along the top of the corridor walls; large, square, chunks of framework jutted out and joined the wall separating this passageway from the main part of the church, the mess hall. Along the entire width of that same wall was an extremely long counter, not dissimilar to the ones used in banks and barred off similarly. Whether this was a security choice, an aesthetic one or it had just been left like this, I couldn’t say.

"Your room is up ahead, right Kyomi? Is that where we’re headed?"

"Yes."

"So, you live at the guild then?"

"I do."

"How long have you been here? Kai said you’re the oldest member of the group, so that means you knew the last leader?"

"..."

"..."

She's not one for conversation, is she...

"I've been here for 7 years. I knew the old leader but never spoke properly... to him."

Kyomi sighed, it seemed hard for her to get that sentence out. I took a moment to let her catch her breath, aware I’d be overstepping my bounds by interrogating her further.

In that short period, we arrived at the first floor of the dormitory building. Left of the entrance was a narrow staircase leading to the second floor and besides that, a small storage area which was presumably for the residents use.

The hallway was fairly long – possibly as long as the corridor leading to it – and with good reason. Five separate doorframes; one without a door, leading into a communal kitchen area, while the other four had thick, heavy, wooden doors accompanied with names fitted into them.

A door at the end of the hallway read...

Kyomi, A

"Here, wait just there... I’ll be back."

"No problem."

For the first time so far, Kyomi gave a dry, yet gentle, smile in my direction. It wasn’t anything special, only the kind you gave when acknowledging a statement but it was the first time I’d seen her with an expression.

I returned an equally awkward, gentle smile as I began awaiting her return. I’m not sure what exactly she is trying to give me but, in all honesty, that thought hadn’t crossed my mind until now; I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a very slight crush on Kyomi.

Unfortunately, I never really see her around the guild, never mind talk with her, so it’s proved to be a fruitless endeavour.

sigh

I’d heard a bit about the reclusive women from my conversations with Kai, so I’m somewhat more informed than most – which still got me nowhere. From what I was told, Kyomi has by far the largest potential of anyone in the guild, surpassing that of Kai, Isa and Rex by miles. That would certainly explain why Rex disliked her so: he’s a very straightforward, good guy. If someone had the power to help people but instead chose to ‘hideaway’ (his own words), then, of course, he would dislike that person.

Even though Kai had told me about her, I still understood very little about Kyomi other than; she was strong, beautiful, spent all the time she could in her room and was not much older than myself... that’s really all I know? Well, I suppose you can add socially awkward to that list now, as I discovered not minutes ago.

I waiting and as I did, the rows of sconces lining the large hallway roared, crackling as they emitted a faint glow. Using the light to study the walls, it was obvious this building was much newer than the church. It was likely that the building had been demolished and rebuilt, which would make sense because this building was, originally, most likely a stable.

I had little grounds for the theory, my main evidence was the original usage for churches before they were abandoned and replaced with the shrines seen on the main roads. Though from what I've heard, the only people who used to go to church were the wealthy and nobility so, because the main way they travelled was by horse, stables were built to accommodate their steeds while they prayed.

This was because Rubia, and surrounding nations, weren’t half as crowded as they are now so a trip to church was more of a pilgrimage instead.

I guess that churches became less necessary as different faiths became popular throughout the world; instead of using up housing space to create even more grand buildings, the government must have given them secondary purposes and built those shrines throughout the main roads. Still, it seemed weird for places of peace to become homes for those who fight. I suppose we do fight for peace though, so is that why our Gods permit it?

Speaking of fighting, how come Kyomi isn’t out with Rex and Isa? While I’m accounted for since, in these exact words, Kai told me not to go out... well, perhaps not those exact words. He did tell me to go home and here I am, outside of Kyomi’s room. Where I’ve been for the past 4 minutes, at least.

creakk

The familiar movement of the door broke my chain of thought, revealing the thin, pale, woman’s figure.

Kyomi was holding two blades in her left hand; one was her usual blade, seen holstered on her left hip whenever I saw her, while the other was a wooden variant of the same style.

This wasn’t what I thought it was, right?

Starting to lock up after herself, I observed her change of clothing. Typically, at least when I saw her, Kyomi wore a long, black, dress with a slit from top to bottom along the left side; a white corset with arms, much like a kimono, that widened as they reached her wrists and a necklace featuring a pendant hanging from it.

That pendant was still there, just hidden beneath a light pink men’s dress shirt? It was similar to the one I wore, just modified to fit her... proportions. Her pants were similar to Kai's hosen, which seemed to be fairly standard for fighting gear (the dark-grey hosen that is) and seemed common among the other adventurers at Eclipse specifically. Well, I said similar to Kai’s but Kyomi’s is more of a dark-brown than a grey, something shared by her knee-length, dark(er)- brown boots.

"You... changed?" Curious, I asked the question though, I feared that I knew the answer already.

"Yes."

"Right."

In her usual one-word response, she finished locking up the door and made her way over to where I positioned myself, a bit away from her door so to not accidentally see her room (as she made it pretty clear, without the use of words, that I wasn’t permitted to do so).

"Here, for you. It’s a wooden bokken." Reaching out her hand, she separated the wooden sword from her exquisite, black and silver, sheathed blade.

"A wooden bokken? Thank you, but is there a reason?" I questioningly asked. I’m not sure what I expected when I followed her, but a sword is a bit... odd?

"It’s a custom where I come from..."

"It is? How many swords, bokkens sorry, do you give to every person you greet?"

"It’s not to greet... it’s to request a... duel..."

A duel? This is the first time we’ve spoken so I was expecting something a little less... outlandish? Well, not really, it is a normal thing to offer duels to other members as you see fit, I’m just surprised it’s coming from Kyomi.

"Erm... I see you looking at me, so... I thought you might want to duel... Well, I want to show you how to use a sword, with me, that is... a lesson?... Yes?"

"......."

"....."

"..."

Oh no... I think I’ve dug myself into a hole I was unaware of. But, at least it doesn't seem like she wants to properly fight me, if it's just training then I have no reason to refuse, and nothing better to do.

sigh

Well, it’s not like I can admit I was staring at her because, well... it’s not the thing to be done, right? I mean, I doubt she cares, but still, I feel obliged to hide it... hah

"So, let me be clear, this is just training?"

"..."

"..."

She's not responding... The only reason I'm asking is that I do actually need to get home after this, I don't have a carriage like last time (not to mention I barely managed to get to it in my previous state).

"Good... Yes, training... let’s go."

That response was less than reassuring but I just chalked it up to her lack of confidence.

"Great, I’m right behind you."

Following behind her, we made our way to the courtyard. There were two doors to leave, at the start and end of the hallway. Since Kyomi's room was on the far side, she had a door opposite her room to get out: surely handy for a recluse like herself.

And, just like that, we made our way to the fighting hall. The entire way there we were met with nothing but the local wildlife since all hands were on deck, all hands except ours. I suppose the reason for Kyomi staying in is obvious, there does need to be people defending the guild, and she wouldn't want to leave anyway, making her the perfect candidate for the job. So, in a world of our own, we made our way towards the all too familiar building.

I was always equipped to fight; my bartender's clothing, a pair of dice, dangling from my dark-leather belt, and my trusty dagger (though not much use to me now), was always at the read-

"White... stop staring into space, we’re here."

"A- Oh... Right."

9:45

Chapter 7, End.