Chapter 6: Makoto Takatsuki Meets the Priestess of the Moon
“Good evening, Takatsuki,” Sakurai greeted me.
“Oh, Sakurai?” I answered.
A moment later, Prince Leonardo exclaimed, “The Hero of Light?!”
It was late in the evening—the prince and I had been practicing water magic in my room when Sakurai arrived.
“Sorry to interrupt... But are you free later, Takatsuki?” asked Sakurai.
“Yeah, sure. Do you mind, Prince Leonardo? Sorry to cut our training short.”
“N-Not at all! Please see to the Hero of Light’s request first!”
I figured Sakurai’d just come over to hang out, but his serious expression had probably prompted the prince to infer something else. I waved Sakurai toward a chair and then sank down on my bed, crossing my legs. Prince Leonardo sat next to me.
“So, what’s up?”
“Honestly...I want to discuss the Priestess of the Moon.”
With a tired expression on his face, Sakurai started a halting explanation.
The current moon priestess was descended from the Laphroaig royal family, who once ruled the now-destroyed country of the same name. As the Priestess of the Moon, she was the representative for the Goddess of the Moon, Naya, and the central figure for Naya’s believers.
However, the reputation of moon-aligned followers sank like a rock a thousand years ago when the moon priestess of that era defected to the side of the Great Demon Lord during the war.
It was Abel the Savior that’d eventually revealed the old moon priestess’s allegiance; after the defeat of the Great Demon Lord, the entire nation of Laphroaig had been destroyed by an alliance of the six nations, the foremost of which was Highland. Everyone in the Laphroaig family had been eradicated during that annihilation.
Everyone...except for one person—Laphroaig’s princess, the Priestess of the Moon.
“How come?” I asked Sakurai once he’d explained that history. “Wouldn’t it usually be the other way around?” I would’ve thought that the top people in the country would have been taken straight to the chopping block, while the rest of the citizens would’ve been spared.
“The princess vanished at the same time as the Great Demon Lord was defeated,” Prince Leonardo offered. “She was also known as the Witch of Calamity. Some people claim that she was slain by the savior as well.”
Hmm, okay.
“Since then, very few moon priestesses have appeared, and all of them have been descendants of that royal family. Recently, the Soleil Knights captured one of those priestesses.” Sakurai’s expression looked pained. I didn’t know why, though.
“I had heard that she was leading a restoration of Laphroaig and gathering the cambions within its lands,” explained Prince Leonardo. “That was apparently the reason the Soleil Knights apprehended her. Sir Sakurai was surely involved.”
“Oh, right, Fujiyan mentioned that.” I remembered thinking at the time that Sakurai didn’t have it easy.
“But...” Sakurai hesitated. “The people actually living in Laphroaig were harmless. They were living in peace.”
“What?”
“The Soleil Knights’ purpose in doing so was demonstrative—we wanted to encourage and give hope to the people who fear the Great Demon Lord... But, in reality, our actions just oppressed cambions who weren’t hurting anyone...”
“Sakurai...”
It...was a depressing topic. Sakurai must have been used.
“I was chosen for the exercise because of my Debuff Immunity skill. The priestess has—on top of her fate magic—considerable skill in dark magic and curses.” His voice was nowhere near as bright as normal. “She cussed me out and asked what I found enjoyable about hurting weak people. Especially hurting those who were living peacefully.”
The prince and I remained silent. It wasn’t a pleasant story to hear.
“She’s recently escaped, but she hasn’t left the city. I really shouldn’t...but I want to help her escape...”
I exchanged a glance with Prince Leonardo at the admission.
The prince spoke first and asked Sakurai, “What do you want to do?”
“And what about your subordinates?” I added. “Will the Soleil Knights help you?”
Sakurai gave a long pause.
“My plan...goes against the decisions of Highland’s superiors. My motivation is my own selfishness.”
Right, so his fellow knights certainly wouldn’t offer aid.
“So, do you know where she is?” I inquired.
“No...” he answered apologetically. “I’m not great at gathering information like that.”
This was a tricky one. Finding people would be Fujiyan’s wheelhouse since he had his merchant network. He was already really busy though, so I didn’t want to ask that of him. The prince might be able to use his status, but he was probably in the same boat. We were stuck.
The graveyards, Noah said in my mind.
Noah?
Search the city’s graveyards, she told me explicitly.
What brought this on?
Don’t you feel sorry for her? She doesn’t deserve that, does she?
Something sounds fishy... Do you have an ulterior motive there?
Rude! I don’t!
It certainly was rude. Guess I shouldn’t doubt my goddess. Thank you, Noah.
“A graveyard, Sakurai. That’s where she is.”
The other two looked at me with wide eyes and both sputtered out a questioning noise.
But in the end, we three heroes headed off for the graveyards.
There were two main types of cemeteries in Symphonia.
The first were Holy Resting Grounds, where royals, clergy, and other nobility were interred. They were guarded around-the-clock by the Temple Knights to stop any grave robbing.
As for the second type...
“I think she’ll be hiding here,” Sakurai told us. He’d explained the segregation of the graveyards, and after, had guided us to a cemetery that was not restricted to the higher echelons of society. Here, in the public cemetery, commoners of the fourth through ninth districts could be buried. Humans, beastmen, and other demi-humans were all included, and the cemetery had rows of graves within it.
It was also late at night, so our presence wouldn’t draw attention.
Sakurai and Prince Leonardo were both wearing plain armor. As for me? Well, my normal clothes were plain anyway, so I hadn’t needed to change. Wooo.
“But the Temple Knights and priests should patrol this cemetery as well,” Prince Leonardo interjected. “After all, corpses are used to create the undead.”
That was a real “otherworld problem” if I’d ever heard one. Cemeteries in this world could become infested by the undead, so even public ones needed to be patrolled.
“I can’t see any. No humans at least,” I offered quietly.
“Yeah, so undead are just roaming the place,” Sakurai added.
Skeletons and zombies were just shuffling between the graves like they owned the place. We used Stealth to gradually make our way through. I hadn’t expected Sakurai to have that skill since he was so strong—I figured he’d have no need to hide from monsters.
There were enough trees around the graveyard that it was like walking through a forest, plus, there was a thick mist that made visibility awful. The monsters probably wouldn’t spot us. Though, some of them were standing around, almost like lookouts in set locations. This amount of undead in one place surely wasn’t a natural occurrence.
“Think we’ve got the place?” I asked.
“She is a necromancer,” said Sakurai, “so I think we do.”
“The lack of Temple Knights and priests might also be due to her puppetry. It would certainly explain their absence,” the prince reasoned.
So the moon priestess was probably here after all. We’d found a woman wanted throughout Highland’s capital in no time flat... That’s my goddess.
You’ve got that right, she replied with a giggle.
Thank you, Noah. Time to confirm things.
I turned to Prince Leonardo. “I know I invited you, but are you sure you should’ve come?” He didn’t have Stealth, so he was holding my sleeve. It was pretty adorable; he was like a puppy.
“I will be fine. I am a hero after all.” His tone was firm, but his voice shook. He was letting out soft eeps and jumping every time we saw a zombie. Honestly, I was worried—Princess Sophia was definitely going to have something to say to me about it.
“Before we see her, there’s something I need to warn you two about,” Sakurai said seriously. “She can use fate magic to see the future. It isn’t all-powerful, but there’s a distinct possibility that she may know we’re coming. She also has high-level Puppetry and Charm skills. If she touches us, even I won’t be able to resist her bidding.”
“But you’re the Hero of Light?!” Prince Leonardo exclaimed in shock.
“Yeah. Fortunately, my fellow Soleil Knights helped me, but people without resistance against mental effects can get ensnared by just hearing her voice or meeting her eyes.”
“I guess there’s not much we can do about that.” I couldn’t help my astonishment, and I was impressed they’d caught her at all. “I’ve got Calm Mind, so I’ll be fine. Prince Leonardo, did you learn Serenity?”
“I-I did, just like you said.”
In which case, a simple Charm shouldn’t affect him.
“I’ll persuade her,” Sakurai said. “She’s probably guarded by some high-level undead under the control of her Necromancy, so I want you to keep those monsters in check.”
“Got it.” I confirmed.
“V-Very well.” Despite his apparent fear, the prince still managed to answer.
“Now, this is the most important thing,” Sakurai said after a moment, his voice growing even more serious.
There was more?
“You can’t attack her.”
“What?” I asked. Why?
“Her curse,” Prince Leonardo said in apparent understanding.
“And that means we can’t attack her?” I was still confused.
“Those that attack her will suffer from a Curse of Vengeance. If she is slain, her killer will be cursed with death,”
“The Curse of Vengeance doesn’t stop with just the killer,” clarified Prince Leonardo. “It takes out everyone around them. There are theories that it can exterminate an entire town.”
“Scary...”
Darkness and death were moon-attributed, so they were under Naya’s domain. The moon priestess would have Naya’s blessings... Hmm, that’d be pretty dangerous indeed, I thought. I quickly ratcheted up Calm Mind.
Right, there was also something I needed to say before we confronted her.
“Sakurai, I need to ask something as well.”
“Yeah, what?”
I glanced at the prince clutching my sleeve.
“Prince Leonardo and I were just here to help you take out some undead we discovered in a cemetery. We didn’t have anything to do with the Priestess of the Moon’s escape. That’s the deal, okay?”
“Right...” Sakurai trailed off. “I guess I’ve put you two heroes on thin ice with this plan.”
He offered an apologetic smile. I wasn’t blaming him or anything, though—if he was as relaxed as he usually was then he would’ve noticed that about my attitude. The whole “reincarnation of the savior” thing coupled with his position as leader of the Soleil Knights must have been weighing on him.
“All right, don’t worry about it,” he said.
“Thanks, you’re a lifesaver,” I told him. “Are you going to manage to win her over, though? I don’t know what kind of person she is.”
“Yeah...I think so. I visited her every day while she was imprisoned, and she didn’t seem unimpressed with me. But, it was me that caught her, so she might be angry...”
“Come on!” I cried out. Was this even going to work? Still, the whole scenario was right out of a story—Sakurai visited an imprisoned princess every day. Plus, he was the main character there.
“I guess asking if you know how to deal with girls is pretty rude,” I said. “We’ll leave it to you.”
“It’s not like I’m that used to—”
“You’re not?” I interjected. “You were going out with the student teacher in junior high. If you’re not used to dealing with girls, who is?”
Come on, Sakurai, apologize to all the virgins... Or at least me!
“Th-That was a long time ago! She was crying and I didn’t know what to— Hang on, how do you know about that?!”
“Sasa told me,” I replied. “Hell, all the girls knew.”
“Urk, the gossip network is scary...”
“U-Uh, shouldn’t we be quiet?” Prince Leonardo timidly interrupted as Sakurai and I chattered. Whoops, that was rude... The last half of our conversation had nothing to do with him.
“Still, you two certainly seem to be on good terms,” he added with a jealous look.
Are we? Well, I guess we are old friends.
“Let’s head in, then,” Sakurai declared.
The prince and I nodded quietly.
Bathed in the moonlight, the girl looked like a beautiful ghost.
That was the first description I thought of when I saw her from a distance.
She had dark, glossy hair and was wearing an elegant dress. Her listless face had the symmetry of a doll’s. She was sitting on a rock at the edge of a small pond, and suits of armor surrounded her. There were probably around twenty of them.
We used Stealth to slink behind the trees and weigh up our options.
“Is that her?” I asked Sakurai quietly.
“Yeah, definitely.” A note of relief had entered his voice.
“So that’s the priestess of the moon goddess that can charm any living thing...” Prince Leonardo murmured curiously.
“What was that?” I asked.
“She’s considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world, after the goddesses,” he explained.
“Oh...”
The most beautiful but for the goddesses, huh? Well, the ethereal scene before us was definitely because of her beauty.
Suddenly, she spoke.
“You can come out, Ryousuke.”
In unison, we gasped—we’d been found out. Sakurai glanced at me, and I wordlessly understood that he wanted me as hidden backup. I gave him an affirmative gesture.
“Hey, Furiae,” he answered, appearing from the shadows of the tree. His voice was as cheery as when he used to talk to girls from our class.
“Why are you here?”
By contrast, her voice was chilly.
“To help you.”
“Leave me alone. It’s better that way.”
Hmm, I can’t tell how she feels from her tone.
“The gates all have a Temple Knight with Scout on guard duty,” Sakurai pointed out. “You’re not going to be able to escape on your own, are you?”
“I will be fine. After all, there will be uproar within the town before long, and I’ll take advantage of it.”
“The beastman rebellion?” Sakurai asked after a pause. “The ringleaders have been captured, so it won’t happen.”
“Oh... I see. That’s good.” Her voice was calm, like she’d seen all this coming. “There are more monsters around the city walls. It’s likely the Snake Sect’s doing. Did you know about that?”
“We’ve made preparations for that as well. The Soleil Knights and the Four Cardinal Knights have bolstered the forces at the gates. The monsters won’t make it into the city.”
She chuckled teasingly.
“Won’t they?”
He didn’t seem to be convincing her. Did she even need help?
“Then...do you have connections with the Snake Sect?” he asked.
There was a long pause.
“Don’t be a fool. I loathe them.”
So she said, at least. They probably weren’t allies.
“I’ve had enough,” she said. “Will you leave? I don’t need your help.”
As she spoke, the suits of armor that had been standing at attention around her drew their swords. Sakurai didn’t brandish his own weapon though.
Come on, dude, what gives?
“You don’t need my help?” he pressed.
“You’ve become irritating. Leave me alone.” Her voice had started to sound angry. When she lifted her hand toward the moon, the twenty knights all advanced on Sakurai.
She was just going to attack out of nowhere?!
“Sakurai!” Leonardo and I called in unison, jumping out.
“Oh? Well, these are new faces. Different from the spellsword that’s always with you.”
Did she mean Yokoyama? While that thought was running through my mind, the knights had surrounded Sakurai.
He was handling them with ease, but...
Is he slower?
“Makoto, the Hero of Light isn’t as strong when he’s not under the sun!” the prince cried.
Oh! Sakurai did say something about that! I took a good look at the knights she was commanding—they all had skulls for faces, so they were definitely undead knights, and they were far faster and stronger than skeletons or zombies. These monsters must be her real fighting force.
“Sorry about this, Prince Leonardo.”
“Makoto?”
I grabbed hold of his hand.
Synchro.
He let out a gasp, but I’d apologize properly later.
“Water Magic: Water Dragon!”
I let loose the ultra rank spell, blasting several of the undead knights away.
“So you’re a mage despite that dagger,” said the moon priestess, still at ease.
Sakurai continued fighting the undead knights. It was probably because of the lack of sunlight, but he didn’t have the strength he’d possessed during our battle with the blight dragons. Regardless, it didn’t look like he’d lose against these undead. I mean, he was fighting bare-handed.
No, the greater concern was that the priestess—Furiae—still had that damned composure on her face. She smiled, slowly approaching us.
“M-Makoto...” warbled Prince Leonardo.
“Don’t forget your Serenity skill,” I instructed.
His grip on my hand tightened as I spoke. What was he, a girl? I readied my dagger to protect him, but I couldn’t attack her, so I didn’t know what I was actually going to do.
“It’s a good thing that tonight’s a full moon,” she commented with a gentle smile. “Naya’s blessing is at its strongest.”
Suddenly her eyes glowed gold. “Please, would you listen?”
Was that Charm? My Calm Mind prevented it from affecting me. Plus, Prince Leonardo had learned Serenity. Too bad, priestess. I was relieved at that and—
“Watch out!” Sakurai leaped into our space from out of nowhere.
What’d you do that for?!
“Uh?”
But when I looked toward him, I saw Prince Leonardo’s sword sticking out of him.
◇ Furiae’s Perspective ◇
As long as I’ve been aware, I’ve been alone. I don’t know what my parents look like, or if I have siblings. I have no friends, no one to rely on. The only looks I get...are ones of revulsion and fear.
I was born and raised in the ruined country of Laphroaig. A thousand years ago, the Priestess of the Moon—also known as the Witch of Calamity—betrayed humanity to the demons. Apparently, if she touched, spoke, or met someone’s gaze, she could control them as she wished. The only one she could not possess was the ancient Great Demon Lord. The legend goes that she became his lover.
She became the most despised person in history. And I...am her reincarnation.
I was brought up—and venerated—in the ruins of my country by people who secretly followed Naya, the Goddess of the Moon.
Don’t make me laugh. That bitch made my life hell. I just wanted a peaceful life.
Memories of my capture by Highland flooded my mind.
“There is no other choice,” said Pope Roma with a fixed smile.
“Though it is...less than pleasant for you,” added the Priestess of the Sun, a woman called Noelle.
Behind them stood the hero that had caught me. Where did he get off, looking so sad? Hypocrite. He and his knights had trampled through my quiet life in Laphroaig. My hands and feet were now bound in thick shackles and connected by a hefty chain.
I was imprisoned under the cathedral. Here, the sun goddess’s power made my own magic essentially unusable. I could not escape, but my curse meant that they couldn’t kill me. I was being kept alive like some sort of cattle. No, cattle had a purpose—I was even lower...
“Sorry...” the hero apologized. For some reason, he’d come to visit me every day.
“If you want to atone, how about getting me out of here?”
“I...can’t do that...”
He made me sick, putting on a kind face. If he couldn’t help me, he could just disappear.
“Furiae... Are you leading the cambions? Or do you have connections with the Snake Sect?”
“I’m not, and, if anything, I hate them.”
Cambions were the reason the world despised me. As the story went, that was the Witch of Calamity’s fault. She had pushed a policy of appeasement in Laphroaig—when the Great Demon Lord had ruled the world, only Laphroaig had been spared his tyranny. That was due to the push for unions between demons and humans, which led to many children being born with mixed heritage. Gradually, there would’ve been more and more cambions, which would’ve nullified the reason for war between races... Well, that had been the plan, apparently.
It had ended in failure.
After all, those unions had been forced with Charm rather than consensual feelings, so a policy like that was never going to succeed. It only resulted in the birth of a nomadic race, of tens of thousands of cambions...all at the behest of that era’s moon priestess.
Her plan didn’t have anything to do with me though! The people leading cambions into darkness were the Snake Sect, and they were aiming for the prosperity of cambion-kind. I had nothing to do with those snakes, even though the world at large looked at me with the same lens.
Even so, the Hero of Light still kept coming to visit, and gradually, I grew to not dislike seeing his face.
“Don’t come back again...” I said to him, one time. He’d brought me something this time, and had insisted on me accepting it.
“Don’t worry about it,” he answered. “I picked these up at a store. They’re rare fruits.”
“They could do with being sweeter.”
“Got it! I’ll bring something else, next time!”
And so, the day after, he did just that. How strange...
“Come with me!” the first prince of Highland demanded one day. “I know you’re connected to the Snake Sect!”
He moved me somewhere else. I had nothing to do with the Snake Sect, but he wouldn’t believe me. Still, it was good luck that he’d moved me away from the powerful barrier around the cathedral. His pointless questions were a pain, but I saw my chance—I captivated a nearby knight’s attention and controlled them.
I made my escape, hiding in the tunnels beneath Symphonia, and waited for my chance to flee from the city.
The tunnels were huge. I used Necromancy to create undead at every exit I found, searching for a way out. I spent several days doing this, but one day, I found them all defeated.
It had happened out of nowhere—every single one of my scouts had been defeated. I assumed that the Temple Knights wiped them out en masse.
It didn’t matter.
After all, I’d discovered that I couldn’t leave the city. Every exit was guarded by a team of Temple Knights, so there was no way I’d escape.
I’ll need some new troops...
I wandered into a public graveyard. So far, it’d been my stronghold, a place with vast arrays of material for summoning the undead, and a veritable treasure trove of corpses...
I honestly didn’t want to create any undead, though. By night, I controlled them, and by day, I gathered funds by playing the part of a fortune-teller in the sixth district.
My daytime activities soon netted me some interesting information:
There was a plot for the beastmen to revolt. At first, I’d been confused as to why but then I considered the circumstances. The Soleil Knights were all in Symphonia right now, along with other knights from all over the country. They were here for the Hero of Light’s induction as the leader of the Soleil Knights.
But, I’d figured out the real plot.
The damned Snake Sect were the ones pulling the strings of the uprising. They were from Laphroaig, just the same as me... They supported a heretical church, and they wanted to cause a riot.
I could use that cover to escape. And, I wouldn’t stop the rebellion or riots. Honestly, I had no obligation to do so, and, if anything, I hoped that the pope and priestess who’d scorned me would get caught up in the revolt and die.
I could use fate magic to see the future.
However, that future was not absolute—I could only see “big events,” not specifics. If I’d been able to predict everything, then the Soleil Knights would never have caught me. Still, both the beastman rebellion and the chaotic plot of the Snake Sect were classed as “big,” so I could foresee exactly what day those events would happen. They would occur just a few days in the future... I figured that I could escape then, so I just hid out in the cemetery for a while. I’d charmed all the Temple Knights patrolling the area, and I had my undead patrolling instead. Everything should have been fine.
However, today was different.
Someone’s here.
Actually, I knew who it was.
Him.
The lines of causality were only visible to those that could use fate magic, and by counting all those lines, I could infer how important a person was, along with their influence. Most people had around ten causality lines at most.
A member of royalty would have hundreds of lines. The Hero of Light...had thousands. He had so much influence I could believe he really was Abel the Savior’s reincarnation.
And now, I knew that he was near me.
“You can come out, Ryousuke,” I called to him. It had been a while.
“Hey, Furiae,” he answered. His voice was too cheery for the atmosphere of graves around us. He looked just the same as every time I’d seen him during my imprisonment.
Actually, he might look more tired. Is he all right?
“Why are you here?”
My assumption was right—he was usually softhearted, and he was naively hoping to help me.
It would be one thing if he were alone, but he’d brought a friend. It was probably the spellsword he was usually with...or not. There were two of them, and I didn’t know their faces. Were they his subordinates? One seemed fairly strong, if young. The other was...super weak? What a strange combination.
I’d toss the undead knights their way and buy some time to allow me to escape. Considering the Hero of Light’s personality, he wouldn’t be fighting seriously.
Oh well. I’d just use Charm on the two people he’d brought along.
“What?”
Ryousuke?! Why would you take the hit instead?!
“Just forget it!” I yelled in confusion, running away.
◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇
“Sakurai!”
Through my altered perspective from RPG Player, I noticed Prince Leonardo’s empty eyes, but at just that moment, Sakurai leaped between us.
His blood spurted in the moonlight.
Damn, his Serenity skill wasn’t enough!
Prince Leonardo’s sword had sliced through Sakurai’s shoulder, and then his small body had fallen to the ground.
“Wh-What in the world...?” The prince was back to his senses now. It seemed that he’d only been controlled for a moment.
“What are you doing?!” the priestess shrieked in shock.
Uh...that was your fault though?
“S-Stop them!” she ordered the various undead before running away.
“Sakurai, you good?!”
“Sak— Hero!” cried Prince Leonardo. “What have I—”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sakurai interrupted. “Sorry, Takatsuki...Charm doesn’t work on you, so can you chase her? I’ll be right behind you. Make sure she doesn’t touch you though!” As he spoke, he used a recovery item to heal up.
Great, his wound wasn’t too bad, then.
“As long as you’re okay...” I replied doubtfully. “What happens if she touches me?”
“When she did it to me, I couldn’t resist her Charm, even in the sunlight. If she can touch it, there’s nothing in this world she can’t charm!”
“Got it.”
I couldn’t hurt her, and I couldn’t even touch her. She sure was a piece of work. Still, I couldn’t just leave her either.
It’s my fault he got hurt...
My RPG Player skill would’ve normally let me block the prince’s attack, but I’d let my guard down because Sakurai was around. I couldn’t slip like that again. So I left the undead to the other two and chased after the priestess as she ran through the graves.
She’s fast!
I wasn’t catching up at all. If anything, she was losing me.
Well, she is a priestess.
They were on par with heroes in this world, and they had exceptionally high stats, whereas mine were even lower than average.
I’d probably even lose if I tried to arm-wrestle Princess Sophia...probably.
Damn it! I was supposed to be a hero!
Well, if I can’t win fair and square, I’ll just have to stack the deck.
Water Magic: Ice Floor.
The ground just under her feet froze solid. She seemed like she was about to fall, but then managed to regain her footing.
Not bad.
Now she’d changed direction. Not going to happen.
“Water Magic: Ice Floor, Ice Floor, Ice Floor.”
I froze the ground wherever she tried to place her feet.
With an angry look in her eyes, she glanced back at me. Was she giving up?
Apparently not. She lifted her hand to the moon and chanted, “I call you from the gate of death, return and serve me...”
Her voice sounded like singing. It was beautiful, but it prompted ugly zombies to drag themselves up from the ground. So this was Necromancy.
“You can deal with these!” she yelled as they circled me.
She was going to use the distraction to escape.
“Elementals,” I called.
Water Magic: Ice World.
Everything—the zombies, the ground, and even the trees—froze. I’d kept my magic from affecting the area around her, though. That way, her curse shouldn’t counter it.
“You’re a clever mage,” she said after a moment.
“Sorry, but you annoyed me by hurting a friend of mine,” I replied.
I’d learned from my fight with Gerald, so I kept Calm Mind at fifty percent, letting just some anger slip toward the elementals.
“Just wait there until Sakurai gets here, would you?”
She was silent.
I couldn’t attack her directly, but I could indirectly stop her from running by freezing the ground. The entire area was blanketed in frost.
“Troublesome mage,” she spat, glaring at me. If looks could kill, I’d have been dead on the spot. Her eyes glowed gold. She was trying to use Charm again? That wouldn’t work on me, though.
Wait, it’s not just her eyes... Her whole body’s glowing...
There was a crunch as she kicked off the floor, cracking the ice.
Gah! She’s coming for me?! Her body’s covered in Aura as well.
I readied my dagger. She was pretty fast.
But I can’t attack her! I reminded myself, frantically lowering my dagger as I remembered Sakurai explaining her curse.
I wasn’t sure what to do. Damn it! This was the downside of turning down Calm Mind—I couldn’t pick the best choice as quickly.
While my mind was spinning, she grabbed my arm.
She’s touching me now!
I hurriedly set Calm Mind as high as it would go. Attacking her wasn’t a possibility since the curse would counter me. I needed to shake her off with the least movement possible.
But before I could even attempt it, she started to speak.
“Obey me,” her voice chimed, obsidian eyes boring into mine. I remembered that not even the Hero of Light could resist her if she was in physical contact with him.
I might be too late. Although...she had beauty only surpassed by the goddesses? Yeah, she was beautiful, only slightly less so than Noah...
“Hand over that dagger,” she ordered me.
She wanted Noah’s dagger? Well...
“Sorry, I can’t do that,” I told her. It was my only weapon, and a gift from Noah as well. I couldn’t hand it over.
“Wha?” Her mouth dropped open.
“I-I said obey me!” she demanded, tightening her grip.
“Ehh, it doesn’t matter how many times you say it,” I answered.
“Why can you still talk?! That goddess said my Charm would work on everything alive!”
“I don’t know what to tell you. Besides, maybe you shouldn’t be so casual about her?”
“It’s her fault my life is so awful!” raged Furiae. “All because she made me her priestess! Why should I be respectful?!”
That was a strange thing to hear... Did she not get along with her goddess?
“H-Hey, look me in the eyes,” she said tearfully.
That was pretty blatant.
“But...I already am...?” I looked steadily into her wide, slightly purple eyes.
Suddenly, she grabbed hold of the back of my head and brought her forehead almost against mine.
“Th-There’s no way it won’t work if we’re this close...”
Her breath smelled slightly sweet as she spoke. She was way too close, but Noah’s usual sexual harassment had kinda desensitized me to it.
Had Noah been planning for this the whole time?! That’s my goddess!
W-Well, you know!
I could see her puffing her chest out with a smug look. Yeah, guess not...
H-Hey! It’s a goddess’s job to tempt their disciples!
That’s supposed to be a job? Whatever, Noah’s teasing had gotten me used to her beauty, and she was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen.
R-Right? See, it’s all thanks to me! she insisted with an audible wink.
Sure, let’s go with that.
I turned my attention back to the moon priestess. “Sakurai will be here soon, Furiae. Just wait for a bit longer.”
I moved to grab her and keep her from running away. Her Charm wasn’t going to work on me.
“N-No way...” She collapsed to the ground, and her face morphed from an expression of utter surety to something teary. “Why?! I only have my magic! I’ve come this far on my own with moon magic! If I can’t even have that, I shouldn’t even be alive!” She shook her hair out in fury, grabbing at my arm even tighter.
O-Ow! She’s strong!
“C-Calm down—”
“How can I?! I don’t have anyone I can count on! No parents, no brothers, no friends! I’ve been treated like a leper for as long as I can remember because I’m her priestess. They all feared and hated me... The slimeball men look at me with lust, and the women hate me even more because of it... My moon magic let me escape danger—I could control the people that attacked me and get away. I’ve spent my whole life running, and for what?! It’s because I’m her priestess! I...I just wanted a quiet life...”
I couldn’t answer.
This girl had issues!
What should I do? Sakurai! Hurry up!
“Please...kill me...” She’d been so worked up, but now her voice was one of utter despair.
What the hell does she mean? Is she sick?
Will you kill the Priestess of the Moon, Furiae?
Yes
No
The hell kinda choice was that?! There wasn’t any question there. “No,” obviously. Plus, her curse would kill me as well if I did her in. More importantly, though, there was no way I could slay a girl who’d suffered as she had...
Furiae squeaked. She’d looked teary before, but now, she was cringing away in terror. Uh? Could she see the options presented by RPG Player? That...wasn’t good.
Immediately, I selected “No,” and she gasped again, seeming incredibly surprised.
I...was never going to pick “Yes.” Yet, she was still looking fearfully at me. Why?
“Takatsuki!”
“Makoto!”
Oh, the others are here.
“You’re late, Sakurai,” I told him. Finally, I wasn’t stuck alone with her.
“Wh-What are you doing?!” Sakurai demanded.
“U-Um, Makoto...” stammered the prince. “You’re holding onto her...?”
I’d been told not to let her touch me, but here I was, clinging to her arm. Yup, I suppose that was definitely worth the comment.
“I guess charm magic just doesn’t work on me,” I answered.
“Impossible! She has the Witch of Calamity’s Charm skill—it’s legendary!” Prince Leonardo wasn’t usually one to refute someone so plainly. Guess it is pretty strange then... It was kinda late for me to realize, but I was pretty sure that my total resistance to Charm was due to Calm Mind.
“Not like I’d expect any different from you...” Sakurai marveled. Then, he switched gears. “Thank you for chasing her.”
“You’re welcome. Your wound all good?”
“More or less.” He looked to be in some pain, but he slowly came over to us.
“Furiae, why did you run aw—”
“Sorry...about earlier,” she interrupted. “I just meant to surprise you.”
“I know. You’d have done worse if you were serious.”
“Hmph.”
Sakurai had a slightly awkward look, but his smile was still bright, while Furiae was pouting with reddened cheeks.
Uh? When’d this turn into a rom-com? Mind doing this when I’m not here?
“What happens now?” she asked.
“I’ll ask Noelle for help.”
Furiae quickly shot down the suggestion. “Don’t even think about it. She’s the Priestess of the Sun...she’ll never let me go.”
“Hear me out—once I’m a leader of the Soleil Knights, I’ll have duties in all the major cities. I can smuggle you out and help you escape.”
“And what should I do until then?” she countered.
“Well...”
“So, you’ve got no plan. I’ll escape on my own.”
“No. You could get caught again. I’ll hel—”
“You’re supposed to be the reincarnation of the savior, right?” she asked. “Surely, it’d be better if you weren’t around a cursed priestess.”
There was silence for a while. It kinda sounded like a breakup, to be honest. Did they even remember that I was here?
“Shall we head back?” I asked the prince quietly.
“But she can escape if you’re not here.”
“Aww.” This is so annoying, though!
“Hey, Sakurai,” I offered at a more normal volume. “If you want, I can look after her for a few days. I’m pretty sure Fujiyan can find us somewhere to hide her.” Even if I hadn’t wanted to ask Fujiyan for more help...
“Takatsuki...I’m sorry.”
“Are you sure?” Prince Leonardo asked.
Sakurai was looking at me apologetically, while the prince just seemed worried. As for Furiae...she was peering at me like I was some bizarre creature.
Yeah, I’m just causing more and more trouble for myself, aren’t I?
When we got back to our inn in the third district, everything was dead silent.
Lucy, Sasa, Princess Sophia, Fujiyan, Nina, and Chris were all staring at me wordlessly. Come on, guys, don’t look at me like that! Sakurai had gone back to the castle for now. After all, he stuck out like a sore thumb here. The prince was hiding behind me. His sister hadn’t been pleased when she’d heard about us going to a graveyard at night. I was honestly as scared of her rebuke as Prince Leonardo was.
And, the cause of all of it—Furiae, the Priestess of the Moon—was refusing to meet anyone’s eyes.
Couldn’t she be a bit more cooperative? She was tied up, so she couldn’t run away. Tying up a beautiful woman like her felt unavoidably sinful...
“Hero Makoto... Of all people, why have you brought the Priestess of the Moon with you?” Princess Sophia asked, head cradled in her hands.
“Sakurai asked me to.”
“I will need to speak to Princess Noelle an—”
“I’d...rather you didn’t,” I interrupted.
“Roses and Highland are allies,” she said after a pause. “Sheltering this priestess is an act of treachery.”
Her words were coldly logical. Well, we’re done for—I hadn’t expected Princess Sophia to be here. Considering that Prince Leonardo had been late coming back, I should’ve expected that she might come here to check on him...
I glanced at the Priestess of the Moon, apologetic and slightly at a loss.
Suddenly, she opened her mouth as if she’d had an idea. “The beastmen’s rebellion will begin soon.” The first words out of her mouth had to do with the uprising. All of us exchanged glances.
“Lady Furiae,” Fujiyan began. “The ringleaders have all been captured. There will be no rebellion.”
“That’s right’h! We’ve gone through that area of the city and the rumors about it are abating’h!”
“Oh? Well then, you don’t need to believe me,” Furiae answered with a meaningful smile.
What did she mean?
“Hey, you’re that fortune-teller from the sixth district, right?” Sasa asked, jumping into the conversation.
“That’s right! So you use fate magic?” Lucy added.
“You two have met her before?” I asked.
Apparently, the three had met while Furiae was doing her day job of fortune-telling in the sixth district. What a coincidence... Actually it was more like she’d gone after people that appeared to have money.
“So...using your fate magic, you can see a future where the rebellion takes place?” Princess Sophia asked.
The other priestess’s only response was a smile.
“Give me an answer, Priestess of the Moon,” Princess Sophia ordered.
“When will it happen?” I asked.
Furiae’s smile vanished and she looked seriously at me.
“Tomorrow.”
T-Tomorrow?!
“That...is no lie,” Fujiyan judged hesitantly.
Chris and Nina both exclaimed in shock and whipped around to look at him. So Fujiyan’s Mind Reading skill had verified her words. For real...?
“I find that hard to believe...” the princess said.
“Yeah, what about you, Aya?” Lucy asked.
“Nope, I don’t buy it.”
The three of them didn’t know about Fujiyan’s skill, so they didn’t believe the moon priestess.
“I’ll explain things to you three later,” I said. “Can we just carry on under the assumption that she’s right?”
They all nodded silently at my serious request.
“Incidentally, it isn’t the rebellion itself that will happen tomorrow,” Furiae added happily.
“What else could it be?” I pressed.
“A group of monsters will attack the capital.”
I remembered that Princess Noelle had brought up that possibility during the meeting. “The Soleil Knights and the Four Cardinal Knights are protecting the gates,” I explained. “A group of monsters—”
“There are both land and water beasts,” Furiae interrupted. “Protection from the direction of the ocean is weaker.”
“Is she right, Fujiyan?” I asked my friend.
“Well...the monsters have indeed been gathering in the forests near Symphonia, so there has been no suggestion of an attack from the water. The protection spells on the coastline will be the same as normal...”
“An unexpected revolt from the beastmen coupled with a larger than expected attack from monsters will plunge Symphonia into uproar, the most it’s ever experienced,” Furiae explained, seemingly unconcerned. “I had planned to escape during this turmoil, though I never expected to be captured beforehand.”
“That... That should not...” Princess Sophia didn’t look like she believed Furiae yet. I glanced over at Fujiyan and he nodded—the moon priestess hadn’t lied.
“Princess Sophia, you may not believe it, but—”
“No, I do not believe her words,” she interjected. “I do, however, believe you. Hero Makoto, you must have some proof of it.” She was putting her faith in me. That trust felt strong, and honestly, it made me feel awkward.
I turned to face the Priestess of the Moon.
“Furiae, we want to stop the rebellion and minimize casualties from the monsters as much as possible. You want to escape this country. Both of our desires are clear, so let’s negotiate.”
The priestess looked like she’d been waiting for that. It felt like she was leading me by the nose.
“Negotiations... Very well. I have conditions, though,” she replied, looking straight at me and smiling.
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