Chapter 23: Hopes for the Future
- Location
- A single human dimension
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Special thanks to @saganatsu, @DB_Explorer, and my ten other patrons not mentioned here. An extremely enthusiastic pair of "Thank you"s to @Torgamous and @fictionfan for their patronage as well.
AN: There's a bit of mood whiplash in this chapter.
Aiz Wallenstein appeared to handle sleep deprivation far better than most humans Queen Administrator had observed. The pseudo-pseudo-host showed no sign of the prior night's exertions when meeting Queen Administrator at the stairs leading into the Dungeon itself. Oddly enough, it didn't seem as though Tiona felt like speaking to her Familia member right then; the irrational not-idiot lightly patted Queen Administrator on the back, issued a quick "Behave yourself for Aiz, okay? Good luck!" and promptly fled.
Aiz blinked after Tiona, appearing just as confused by the haste as Queen Administrator. Eventually, the Sword Princess shook her head and turned her attention back to Queen Administrator.
"Sorry I'm late," Aiz said as quietly as always. "Did you find gear you liked?"
"It is comfortable and consistently balanced," Queen Administrator agreed. "Tiona did say we would meet here, but weren't we going to train before entering the Dungeon?"
Aiz blinked and smiled faintly.
"I forgot," she admitted. "Thank you. Is a park okay? It's closer than my usual place."
"If it would not violate the terms of use, then that would be fine."
The veteran adventurer nodded and began walking away from the tower without another word.
"Friends, follow Aiz," Queen Administrator instructed.
The two bioengineered beings smoothly turned around and moved to comply. Aiz waited until Queen Administrator was just behind her to begin speaking again.
"Queen?"
"Yes?" Queen Administrator promptly answered.
Aiz shook her head. "The title," she elaborated. "Are the rumors true?"
Queen Administrator shook
"Tiona told Hestia and I part of what Orario's average citizen apparently believes. Their knowledge is worse than useless. As such, it is unlikely that what you have heard is in any way accurate. I earned it for excellence in my field of study and it does allow me to command my people more often than most."
"Mmm," Aiz wordlessly acknowledged. "Mine isn't real."
"I am aware that your title of 'Sword Princess' comes with little true authority, yes. However, it is still a valid title that you earned. Do not be so quick to dismiss it."
The adolescent's forehead wrinkled and she frowned slightly, but she didn't outright express disagreement.
"Curse?" she instead asked.
Queen Administrator sighed with exasperation as several passing adventurers greatly decreased their travel speed. Eavesdropping, no doubt.
"I apologize, but that's not something to be discussed in public," QA replied shortly. "Or possibly in general."
"I understand," Aiz agreed easily.
The rest of their journey was spent in relative silence.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aiz couldn't help but compare T—Queen Administrator's fighting style to a baby learning how to walk. Or, well, how Aiz imagined one learning to walk; she'd never seen a baby's first steps. First there was the aimless floundering as the royal rookie did little more than jerk her weapon around in response to Aiz's carefully slowed attacks. Then Administrator began to consistently react and counterattack with incredible accuracy, but always in the same manner. Aiz attacking in new ways and at new angles returned Administrator to simple floundering, but the monarch still tried to maintain and utilize what she'd learned when faced with the old attacks. That was often fine for outright dodging, but parrying? That was a problem.
Through it all, Administrator's Friends watched Aiz for any sign of truly hostile intent. Even when they rolled on their backs, they were still keeping their eyes fixed on the ongoing sparring. Their loyalty was adorable and she wanted one for herself. Aiz was still worried about bringing them into combat, but with the sheer number of Magic Stones she'd fed them, they should at least be safe against goblins and kobolds. Probably more.
After about a quarter-hour of Queen Administrator's eccentricities, Aiz bounced back and held up one hand to pause the spar.
"Predictable," was her assessment. "No coherent style. You learn a move and try to reuse it even when the positioning is unsuitable. Might work with a shield. Won't with a sword."
Aiz prepared herself for backlash. She never did understand why other people disliked her honesty, but she always seemed to offend them somehow.
"Acknowledged," Administrator said instead. "However, don't monsters have consistent attack patterns?"
"Usually," Aiz admitted. "Not always. New foes would surprise you, too."
It was an unusual problem that faced them. In most situations, Aiz had to be patient with students and wait for them to pick up what she tried to teach them. In contrast, Administrator learned within minutes, but the lessons she took from it were next to useless. Aiz could see why Administrator wanted to be a ranged specialist; consistency and accuracy were some of the only things needed in that role.
"Understood. Should we temporarily transition to spellcasting?"
Aiz blinked. Why would they need to practice that? By her own admission, T—Queen Administrator didn't have any spells.
"When you get a spell, yes. Before then is just frustrating."
Aiz was already mentally moving to the next subject when Administrator dragged them back to it.
"I have already acquired an area support spell," Administrator said evenly. "The description was lacking."
Aiz's eyes widened. A spell already? When Administrator hadn't even been in the Dungeon since they'd last spoken? It didn't make any sense. There wouldn't be any Excelia to fuel its expression, nor was the Hestia Familia anywhere near rich enough to afford a spell-granting Grimoire.
Unless…?
"The curse?" Aiz whispered, dreading the answer.
Queen Administrator shook her head. Aiz breathed a sigh of relief; her new friend wouldn't be lynched in the streets.
"'Entwined Threads,'" Administrator replied. "Apparently an area support spell with unclear effects. Chant implies some manner of boost to courage, awareness, or assisted coordination among allies. I have the chant memorized, but don't know what else I do to activate it."
"Never cast before?" Aiz asked curiously.
Few had, but rumor painted Queen Administrator as coming from a pseudo-Familia of spellcasting scholars and spirits. Considering her earlier confidence, Aiz would at least expect Queen Administrator to know the theory or have cast cantrips before.
"Not since I was injured," came the reply.
…Oh. Or that. It made sense; why should the injury confine itself solely to damaging Administrator's social skills?
"Chant length?" Aiz asked. "It corresponds to strength. Strength means more damage upon spell failure."
Queen Administrator paused, appearing to measure the length of her new spell.
"Forty-five words," Administrator answered after several seconds. "Flowing structure; easily recited quickly and consistently."
Aiz frowned and nodded. If one excluded single-sentence chants, that meant Administrator's spell was slightly above average in length. Strong and arguably not something for a beginner, but not immediately life-threatening if failed. It was unfortunate, however, that Administrator would receive a spell for enhancing groups when she had no other adventurers in her Familia. She had her Friends, but nobody else.
Maybe Loki could let her come on Expeditions when she's stronger? Aiz herself had spent most of her first year as a Supporter, watching more experienced adventurers fight while Riveria helped her turn theory into practice. There were few reasons Administrator couldn't do the same and all those reasons seemed inadequate. Those you fought beside didn't all need to come from the same Familia.
"Your words shape the magic," Aiz explained. "Your concentration holds the forming spell in place. Don't pause, don't stop, don't lose focus; if any of those happen, it will turn on you. Once you know the spell's effects, you can think about them while casting, but little else. You don't try to move or fight while casting; you'll think about what you're doing, if only a little, and the spell will break from it."
"Any exceptions?" Queen Administrator asked.
Aiz hesitated, turning the honest answer over in her mind. There were the related techniques of Concurrent Chanting and Mounted Chanting, but neither was something Queen Administrator should try just yet. She didn't know much about Mounted Chanting, only that it was generally performed on horseback. Concurrent Chanting was the act of moving and fighting while casting, the known users of which Aiz could count on the fingers of one hand. More than one ambitious rookie had gotten themselves hurt or killed trying to keep their spells stable while fighting.
"A few," Aiz eventually admitted. "Not for beginners. Later."
"Necessary equipment?"
"It's safest and strongest with a specialized staff topped with a Magic Stone; that lets you anchor the spell on it during casting."
Aiz hoped she wouldn't need to tell her pupil to wait until she had a staff to use. Administrator didn't disappoint.
"Then I shouldn't practice it yet," Administrator concluded.
"You should do normal practice against monsters first," Aiz agreed. "You can include magic later. After you understand fights."
"I can already understand the 'flow' of combat," Administrator half-disagreed. "It is including myself that is proving problematic. However, my Friends will ensure I don't need to."
And wasn't that a dangerous mindset? Aiz had heard of more than one Supporter or back-liner who'd had that kind of confidence in the adventuring parties they accompanied. Those people found themselves woefully unprepared when monsters finally decided to go after a softer target instead of the heavily armed ones — or, worse, when every other member of a party died.
"The Dungeon adores ruining plans," Aiz recited. "Strive for the best. Prepare for the unthinkable."
Queen Administrator frowned.
"…So I need more Friends," the monarch concluded.
Aiz opened her mouth, stopped, and closed it. That mindset was wrong in so many ways, but she wasn't sure how to change it. Maybe by appealing to quality over quantity?
"That's more mouths to split Magic Stones among," the veteran reminded Administrator. "Quantity over quality is no answer at all. And you can't grow personally stronger if others do all the fighting; you'll stagnate."
Queen Administrator's frown deepened.
"More combat training, then?" she asked.
"More combat training," Aiz agreed.
And then a break to play with your Friends. They deserve attention, too.
~ ~ ~
From Lachesis's mention of mathematics, Dreamer had expected Clotho to act a bit like a bookworm or geek. Instead, she got an older appearance-clone of Lachesis who, upon switching with her sister, took one look at Dreamer and began complaining about her fashion choices.
"Honestly," Clotho complained. "You can summon any clothing you like and you choose pure white. I understand you may be something similar to a Seer, yet you aren't being forced to dress the part."
"A toga is thematically appropriate!" Dreamer defended herself.
"Yes, yes, you manage the mysterious waif look very well," Clotho dismissed. "It isn't necessarily a good look, though. You look like an invalid, dear."
"I am an invalid!"
"Nonsense," Clotho said briskly. "Some people walk through life and sleep through dreams. You merely do it the other way around. You can't easily crush your enemies while dressed like this; try something a little more practical."
Dreamer scowled and changed to a ragged hoodie and jeans out of sheer spite. Sure, she wasn't that attached to the toga, but it was rude to just barge in and start lecturing your host.
"You look like a thief," was Clotho's blunt assessment.
"But I like it!" Dreamer complained, hating how close to whining she approached.
"I think not. You're used to hiding, my dear, but I don't believe you actually enjoy it. You have nothing to fear in here, and the playgrounds scattered about the place show you to be well aware of that fact. Nobody is judging you for wearing bright and happy colors."
Dreamer scowled and crossed her arms.
"White is bright," Dreamer grumbled. "Are you trying to live vicariously through me? Because of Heaven's dress code?"
To her surprise, that actually earned a brief, tinkling laugh from the older goddess. Clotho shook her head immediately afterward, smiling.
"I am not judging you, and I am not forcing you to wear anything. However, you seem more like you're tolerating your current clothes than actually enjoying them. There is nobody to judge you in here; you're capable of wearing whatever you like."
Dreamer frowned. She hated to admit it, but the Fate may have had a point. In her dreams, Dreamer could wear whatever she wanted without fearing comments about her weight, legs, or any other part of her physical appearance.
"…I'll think about it," Dreamer reluctantly promised. "But can we do it later? My Friends are finally marching and I don't want to miss the battle."
Clotho brightened and clapped her hands together.
"Of course! I'm expecting it to be great fun."
~ ~ ~
On their way into the Dungeon, Sir Kara shuddered, formed a spike at the top of his tail, and angled his head away from their path. Previously flagged anomaly. Queen Administrator followed the Friend's gaze with keen interest. The (now almost confirmed female) child walked nearby, the shifter now disguised as one of the cat-eared human variants QA wanted to pet so badly. Queen Administrator considered the possibility of potential head-petting to be a mark in the child's favor. The heavy beige and red cloak the girl wore beneath a massive backpack made it difficult to gauge whether her nutritional needs were being met, but the fact that she could (presumably) carry a full load within said backpack seemed to indicate that nutritional requirements were not on the list of concerns.
The same could not be said of emotional requirements. The child seemed to be trailing after a quartet of adventurers QA would cheerfully label 'worthless' should they ever ask to join the Hestia Familia. Their social interactions pointedly excluded the apparent Supporter and seemed to treat the child as little more than part of the background. Judging by how she was angling her head in a manner that allowed her hood to hang down and hide her face, the shifter was well aware of their disdain and was understandably unhappy about it.
Queen Administrator would still like to judge the girl's creativity, but the other criteria appeared to be fulfilled and a form-shifting ability was useful enough to excuse even a dull mind. The child would do.
Archival note: Approach apparent Market Shifter for attempted recruitment when time is available.
QA's smile was genuine as she followed Aiz into the dungeon.
~ ~ ~
Liliruca Arde watched Queen Administrator and her cats walk away with utter loathing concealed beneath a dead mask of false happiness. She knew the other girl had looked back at Lili, had seen the suffering of Lili's younger cat-person disguise, and had chosen to ignore it. The foreign monarch just kept riding away without taking so much as a second glance back. It was exactly what Lili had expected, of course, so it didn't even hurt. If anything, Lili felt satisfied that her poor expectations remained as accurate as ever. There were no such things as heroes and those who claimed otherwise were deluding themselves.
It seemed as though everyone in the city had good things to say about Queen Administrator. Lili wasn't among them, especially not now; all she saw was a petty young woman throwing a fit when someone insulted her. The 'rescued' prisoners were incidental. People had insulted Lili all her fifteen-year-old life, and did anyone ever help her? No. When they weren't sneering at her or participating, nobody did more than uncomfortably look away and keep walking. They didn't defend her from the horrible insults and lies Lili had long since grown numb to. They didn't help her claim the share she was so often promised by adventurers who later refused to pay. They didn't offer her a new job to compensate for those who'd cheated her. They never did anything good.
Lili hated every last one of the people calling themselves adventurers, Queen Administrator included. If the foreign monarch really cared, then why hadn't Lili been saved? Why hadn't a so-called curse appeared on her back? Why was she still trapped in the Soma Familia? Even without their casual abuse, Lili daily felt the twin terror and longing she'd associated with Soma's wretched craft. She knew that, if she ever drank it again, she'd become nothing more than one of the mindless thralls who'd do anything, commit any crime, just for another taste. If any adventurer actually cared, they would help her escape her personal hell without a second thought.
No, Queen Administrator only cared about a stupid title. Lili was getting close to freedom even without outside help, though; she'd been stealthily stockpiling money for over a year and she'd soon be able to buy her way out of the Familia. She'd technically be free to leave Orario, City of Self-Centered Scum, and would travel somewhere that she'd be treated as a person instead of a slave.
She wasn't going to do that, though. She'd join a new Familia and keep Supporting the adventurers she so loathed, continue stealing from those who stole from her, but it would only be temporary. Only until she was strong and rich enough to burn the Soma Familia to the ground and dance on the ashes. Or so she dreamed, anyway. Even just freedom seemed like a distant goal; her dreams of an afterward felt like little more than the fantasies they were. All she could do was hope she even lived that long. She would use one of the Crozzo Magic Swords for vengeance, but Welf Crozzo refused to make them and nobody else could forge one strong enough. She would need to use several lesser Magic Swords, and that would be expensive.
No, there were no shortcuts; as always, Lili would have to do it all on her own. Nobody else ever helped, only harmed or turned away.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aiz couldn't remember what she'd expected from the Dungeon. They'd found a combined squad of three goblins and one kobold within ten minutes of entering. That? That was close to normal. However, Queen Administrator pointing at them instead of drawing her weapon was more unusual.
"Designate enemy species 'goblin;' minimal priority. Designate enemy species 'kobold;' minimal priority. Friends: balanced approach."
And with those innocuous words, Sir Kara bounded into the enemy ranks without any apparent regard for his own safety. Blades were casually crushed under giant paws, foes were slammed into each other by his deceptively strong tail, and in general, the enemy were dead less than two seconds after Sir Kara crushed the first of their number. He didn't even get his teeth dirty.
Lady Sable had stayed behind with T—Queen Administrator, both of them appearing completely relaxed. Still, even if the casual destruction of such foes was a bit faster than Aiz had expected, it wasn't really surprising after how many Magic Stones they'd been fed. Aiz sighed and stepped beside the other teenager.
"Ta—Administrator," Aiz said quietly. "You can't let your Friends do all the fighting. You'll never learn anything like this."
"They are learning, though," Queen Administrator happily replied. "And that's all I need. I have a skill for this: Terpsichore. As long as I or one of my Friends significantly contributes to a fight, I still get an even share of any Falna-related benefits."
Aiz blinked. That skill sounded like a tamer's dream. Really, it practically redeemed the ill-viewed practice all on its own.
"You can stay back?"
And just cuddle a cute cat while progressing? If so, Aiz was officially jealous. It wasn't that she hated fighting or anything. There were simply times when she'd much prefer to just laze around and let other people do all the work for her. Everyone sometimes felt like that, she knew.
Then again, I guess I have a similar skill, don't I?
Aiz felt a smile pulling at her lips. She'd played with the thought before, but she really was being rewarded for playing with adorable kitties.
"I can," Queen Administrator happily confirmed. "I don't think these things will do anything for us, though. Too weak. Eat up, Sir Kara!"
Before Aiz's flabbergasted eyes, the Friend began devouring both the monsters and their weapons, his tongue utterly undamaged by the sharp edges of their blades.
"Should he be eating those?" she felt compelled to ask.
"Definitely," Administrator confirmed. "He already hasn't been getting enough metal in his diet; his toxins are probably pretty weak by now. May we go deeper? That was disappointing."
Aiz closed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead. Even with Administrator's apparent skill, none of what Aiz had said about emergencies was invalid. The royal rookie still needed to learn how to fight.
"When you can consistently defeat groups that size on your own, then we can go further down."
Queen Administrator appeared to spend only a moment thinking about it before nodding. Aiz had expected an angry argument and was pleasantly surprised her student didn't provide one.
Twenty minutes later, Aiz was willing to admit that she should've phrased her requirements better. She'd meant for Administrator to engage them in melee combat. Instead, Administrator had accurately and lethally thrown knives into the eyes of incoming foes long before they could enter melee range. Aiz was forced to acknowledge that it was a perfectly valid technique, especially if QA got into the habit of carrying more than the dozen knives she currently possessed.
"Requirements fulfilled," Queen Administrator said blandly. "Eat up, Friends."
Aiz sighed and resigned herself to a long, exasperating afternoon. At this rate, QA would never learn how to fight on her own.
Queen Administrator repeated her feat on the second floor even though Aiz had forced her to dodge for a few seconds prior to executing their enemies. The inhuman movements of Dungeon Lizards apparently presented no issues to the bouncing monarch. The higher numbers of enemies on the third floor introduced inaccuracy as she apparently adapted to the addition of blood on her knives between knife retrieval and immediate re-use, but that challenge was also overcome at the first available opportunity.
If Aiz wasn't manually limiting them, she expected they could've gone all the way to the sixth floor without problems. The seventh would likely give even the Friends trouble, though; their habit of literally stepping on their enemies wouldn't help them as much against the comparatively strong Killer Ants and the flying foes introduced on the same floor. Aiz would hate to see their great big paws get pierced by closing pincers.
(Aiz wanted a Friend so much that her mind started going strange places. She was not going to get herself adopted just to obtain a kitten of her own. She wasn't!)
Still, it was on the fourth floor that Aiz finally found her suspicions boiling over; Administrator had thrown a knife clean through the skull of a kobold and into the wall behind them. She ignored the Friends devouring their now-deceased enemies — how much could their stomachs hold, anyway? — and approached Administrator.
"What are your Basic Abilities?" Aiz whispered. Even if her senses couldn't detect anyone nearby, that didn't mean they shouldn't be careful.
Queen Administrator stiffened and shifted suspiciously.
"Higher than I am supposed to disclose to anyone save you and Hestia," Administrator admitted. "Over one hundred in everything. Even higher for Magic."
Aiz felt the burning bite of jealousy dig ever deeper. That kind of growth was insane, especially given Administrator's track record. The royal rookie hadn't been in the Dungeon since the Monster Mansion that she, according to reports, hadn't even properly participated in. Unless she'd been sending out her Friends to hunt in the middle of the night—actually, Administrator might've been doing that. Aiz hadn't heard even hints of such rumors, but if the Friends went in late enough, it could be that nobody noticed or felt like sharing. It would imply a downright absurd range for Administrator's skill, but stranger things had happened. Rarely, but they had.
(Aiz wanted one. She wished for a battle-kitten with tiny little paw-paws and an itteh-bitteh nose and whiskers that went twitch and pointy baby teeth and she wasn't allowed to have one. She'd save up and buy one for the cost of even a Grimoire if she could, yet even that route was closed to her.)
Honestly, Aiz hoped the cats counted as her pupils, too; she'd been the one to get them so many treats. She hadn't updated her Status since receiving her new skill, but if they did count, maybe she'd get to slack off as well? Just a little…? Really, if she'd get stronger either way, who wouldn't prefer to stay home and snuggle kitties instead of fighting?
(Except she didn't have any kitties of her own to cuddle...)
~ ~ ~
Queen Administrator was starting to worry about her teacher. The further they went into the Dungeon and the more enemies QA's Friends casually squished and/or shredded, the more frequent Aiz's involuntary muttering became. Queen Administrator doubted the adolescent was even aware of it or had realized just how blatant the unhappy looks had become.
"I want one," Aiz murmured once more, her eyes fixed on where Lady Sable had protectively wrapped around Host.
Queen Administrator would need to ask Hestia about revisiting their Friend non-distribution policy. The original goal was to avoid Loki's gaze, wasn't it? They'd long since failed that objective. Currying favor with Aiz Wallenstein could only help them in the long term.
Queen Administrator wanted to give her a kitten, too. QA could justify it as a quick route to an emergency backup Friend, but really, QA just wanted to make the other girl happy. Besides, if Queen Administrator understood the nature of Familia correctly, Host and QA would soon acquire a younger pseudo-sibling in the form of the neglected shifter-child. It was only fair that Aiz should also receive something small and cute to feed and
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