Volume 3 Chapter 22
Our room at the Moonlit Garden was dead silent and had been for a long while.
Elane hung off the back of a chair, nursing a cup of tea that came with breakfast. Yua sat with her arms crossed in contemplation atop the bed with Lucielle, who was holding her head in her hands. While they ruminated, I adjusted my hold on Mana as she continued to quietly doze on my lap. She’d been like this for the majority of our talk.
Lucielle had been waiting for us when we got back last night, but after seeing the trembling Mana curled up in Elane’s arms, she allowed us a quick power nap before fully diving into the details of what happened last night. If anything, to make sure a complete lack of energy didn’t have us joining the ranks of the undead, rather than sympathy.
It’d taken a fair bit of convincing on my part to assure Yua and Elane that we weren’t in any immediate danger anymore, but in the end, they agreed. I took the chair backed up against the wall, while they, Mana and Lucielle all shared the bed. Without any other options, she joined my girls in napping, only to wake a few hours later to learn how she’d almost died and how she was truly involved in this mess.
It’d been a rough morning for all.
Finally, Lucielle broke the silence.
“I swear, I’ve never even heard of that Willomina woman until you brought her up.”
“I know. She said you wouldn’t remember her. Going by what she said she’s done, I’d guess that, along with the rest of her plan to recruit someone from the guild, she probably implanted the idea that she was just a dream, so you’d forget about her upon waking from her charm.”
“Is that even possible?” Yua asked.
“I can’t say, but it looks like she used her Vampiric Charm to influence people, not outright control them. It may be best to assume all she did was influence you a little so you don’t over think it.”
“But if it’s all a lie, then what have I been doing this whole time?”
“Exactly what Willomina wanted you to do. You called for help. And in order for you to do so, she must have kept you safe somehow.”
“If that vampire’s goal was to steer her clear of any further meddling so she could call for help,” Elane mused. “Then that probably was keeping her safe. I doubt the bandits would give her a chance to call for help if they caught her a second time.”
“But what about all the people that tried to help me and gave up when it got dangerous?”
“If my guess is correct, Willomina already got to them too. She must have tricked them into thinking nothing was wrong. That, or they played along once they found out what they were up against. As for those she couldn’t convince…”
The sheer number of undead they have working for them still hurts to think about. It hurt even more to think about how long this quest had been up on the quest board before we finally took it.
It was always hard to believe that the people just outright gave up, only to never bring up the murders again. Using an ability or magic to convince them that there was simply no fight to be had could have worked, if anything, to keep the peace while leaving the bandits to think they got off scot-free. I could only imagine how many of those skeletons were her failed attempts to change minds.
“Do you think she went around brainwashing everyone in the city, then?” Elane asked.
“I can’t say and neither could she, but if she’s been here for months, it’s entirely possible.”
“I can’t believe this,” Lucielle said, falling back onto the bed. “A vampire trying to save us by brainwashing us.”
“Well, it is hard to believe.”
It could be another of the loopholes she found in their orders. She said they put her in a position where she had to use her powers, but what if she misled them into thinking she only needed a more limited version of her charm? It’d help to know if the vampires from fiction have the same abilities here on Ternia.
“Do any of you know if a vampire’s Charm can completely control a person?”
The girls all looked at each other and shrugged.
“I don’t really know much about them, other than that they drink blood,” Lucielle said. “And that it’s best to call a priest if you ever come across one… assuming you manage to live long enough to do so.”
“I don’t know either,” Yua added. “But I think Daddy once said he’d like to fight one.”
“That doesn’t surprise me at all... What about you, Elane?”
Given that the room’s second cat girl came from the same village and would likely have the same answer, I instead turned to Elane, who knit her brow and scratched her tit before answering.
“I’ve never seen one before myself, but Tillmann said he did. Supposedly one snuck into his tent for a midnight snack, but old Rock Muncher had been drinking with some buddies. The vampire accidentally kicked an empty bottle, made a bunch of noise and then got his brains bashed in with a hammer before he could take a bite.”
“He say anything else?”
“Just that he never heard the vampire coming until the bottle. And neither did the wolf-kin girl he’d spent the night hammering. Then again, she was even more drunk than he was. No idea why she thought she could beat a dwarf in a drinking competition.”
“Right… Then, if someone like you isn’t very knowledgeable about them, is it safe to assume they’re rare?”
“About as rare as demons, if not more.”
“Well, that’s… odd.”
“How? It’s not like I kept one as a cute little pet. Actually, hey Kitty, want to become my vampire pet?”
There was no response from the girl in my lap for the simple reason that she was still sleeping. Last night was hardest on her, for a few reasons - even if said reasons were debatably all in her head. Regardless, she’d had a rough time staying asleep. She woke during my stint on the night watch and climbed onto my thigh so I could tuck her in, give her a cup of warm milk and read her a little lullaby I like to call Force Sleep. She’s been resting in my arms since.
I brushed her bangs out of her eyes and Elane smiled softly. Yua, called us back to the conversation.
“Why is it odd that vampires are rare?” she asked, then carefully added, “Are they common where you’re from?”
“They’re non-existent, actually. It’s just weird that Willomina said she studied them before being turned into one herself.”
They were rare, and yet, this world’s scholars somehow managed to gather enough information on them to create something worth studying. Let alone knowing enough to make assumptions on how their Blood Frenzy works without being entirely wrong.
“That can’t be a coincidence,” Lucielle said.
“You think she stuck her nose into something she shouldn’t have to further these studies of hers?” Elane asked.
“That’s possible. Maybe she learned something that led her to believe this Baron Renaud was a vampire and, like a true scholar, decided to investigate him herself, only to wind up getting bit for her effort. And, assuming this Baron even exists, he could have bitten her just to keep her from spilling his secrets.”
Except, that didn’t sound like something a self-proclaimed genius like Willomina DeBlanc would do. And if she truly managed to both fix and set up the bandits’ new operation – while skillfully sidestepping their orders and her own plans to do so, all to ask the guild for help from her cell – then I was half tempted to say she was right to call herself a genius.
Yua didn’t seem to agree, unfortunately. She crossed her arms under her bosom and fixed me with a stern look that made my back stiffen.
“Alex… Why aren’t you considering the possibility that she might be lying to you?”
“I did. Everything I’ve said is just speculation.”
“Uh-huh, is that so?”
Her pointed ears twitched as if listening to my thoughts.
“Then how do you know she didn’t charm you, too? She could have told you everything you’d want to hear to spare her. You know, because you were seen when you were supposed to stay hidden?”
“I, uh… Well, she did warn us to keep our voices down so the other bandits didn’t hear us.”
“She also asked you to stay longer, didn’t she?”
“Yea, long enough to kill her.”
“And long enough to get caught by another bandit that isn’t in a cell.”
I couldn’t refute that. Willomina didn’t know about Material Destruction, so she would have assumed I’d use the key to open the cell door or opened another portal to bypass the bars, either of which would have taken more time. Time we didn’t have.
Our narrow escape played again in my mind and Memorization allowed me a perfect mental image of those heavy tears spilling down her cheeks as she begged, not just for a swift death, but…
Please, you have to kill me before it’s too late! I deserve to be punished! Please, before she comes back!
Her last words echoed in my mind, but who was she talking about?
“Did she charm him, too, hmm…?” Elane muttered, scratching her chin. “I see where this is going. Let me take it from here, Yua. Husband, would you do us a favor and wake Kitty up?”
“Why? I’m sure Yua can tell I’m not lying.”
“Just humor me.”
A look of utmost seriousness kept her cobalt eyes fixed on me, leaving me no room to argue. With a sigh, I lightly pat Mana’s butt under her skirt to wake her. Lucielle blushed and politely turned away, but I had little choice.
Normally, Mana slept so deeply that even Yua’s lusty moans couldn’t wake her. Nor could a good shake. However, whenever her mate came knocking so close to one of the only two places on her body he could touch that’d actually wake her, the effect was nearly instantaneous.
Mana’s eyes slowly fluttered open and she looked up at me before rubbing them.
“Mnn… What?”
“Sorry to wake you, but…”
“But I have something to ask you, Kitty,” Elane finished and without waiting for the groggy look in the girl’s eyes to go away, she continued. “What did that vampire look?”
Mana let out a cute little yawn. “She was really white. And dirty. Why?”
“No, I mean was she pretty?”
“Eh?”
Still trying to blink herself into full consciousness, Mana tilted her head back waveringly, but I couldn’t tell if she was trying to remember or just trying not to fall asleep again. I quickly stepped in for her.
“Elane, I see where you’re going with this and…”
“Hush. I’m asking Kitty.”
“Elane…”
“I said hush. Even if I don’t ask now, I’ll just ask her later when you can’t stop me.”
Elane jumped off her chair and gave Mana’s shoulder a good shake before she could nod off again. With no other recourse, Mana blinked her eyes open one last time.
“Now, Kitty, was the vampire pretty?”
“Mnn… Maybe, I guess? White Hair wasn’t as pretty as… *yawn*… someone like you.”
“I see… Wait, what? Kitty, say that last part again.”
“Mnn?”
“Come on, say it.”
She shook the girl’s shoulders again, this time a little harder, only for her head to bobble around on her neck.
“Elane, just ask your question,” Yua said, exasperated.
“Tch… Fine. Kitty, that’s one strike against him. Now…”
“A strike against who?”
“Never mind. Kitty, this one’s important. I need you to focus.” Elane’s hands flew to Mana’s cheeks, lifting her chin high enough to force their eyes to meet. “Did Alex stare at the vampire’s tits?”
“Okay, Elane, that’s enough of…”
“Of course he did,” Mana said. “He’s Big Bro, after all.”
“Yes… Yes, he is Big Bro, isn’t he…? That’s two strikes against you, Husband.”
In front of the eyes of four women, I couldn’t say anything. I could only hang my head in shame when Lucielle quickly covered her chest. All I had in me was a flickering hope that whatever force repeatedly causes me to ogle women, didn’t control my eyes when Willomina was crying. But then Mana continued.
“White Hair’s clothes were really thin, too. And tight. I could even see where her nipples were.”
Oh, Goddess, why?
“Hoho? That’s three, Husband. I think you have some explaining to do.”
Cheeks burning, I opened my mouth to defend myself, but then Mana continued again.
“We could also see her stupid panties whenever she moved her legs.”
“What makes her underwear stupid?” Lucielle asked.
“Alex, I know you really like girls,” Yua added with a sigh. “But if you want to look, maybe just save it for us?”
“He’s not doing it on purpose,” Elane said. “I tested it myself several times. He honestly doesn’t know when he’s staring at someone’s tits.”
“I know.”
“Wait,” Lucielle said, holding her chest tighter. “How could he not know when it’s his own eyes doing the looking?”
“We don’t know,” shrugged Yua. “But I can promise he wasn’t lying when he said he doesn’t notice.”
“Big Bro, can I go back to sleep now?”
“Th-Th-Then when he walked in on me changing…”
“That wasn’t on purpose either.”
“Yea, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t like what he saw. That’s just who he…”
“Okay, will all of you shut the hell up!”
For the first time in a long, long while, the guilt and embarrassment forced me to yell. With her bearing the brunt of my voice on my lap, Mana flinched and shot her hands up to smash her ears down. It was for her sake that I took a slow breath to calm myself. I may or may not deserve the embarrassment and suspicion, but we needed to get back on topic.
“Look, I may not have proof, but I’m sure Willomina didn’t charm us. If she had, don’t you think she would have tried to convince me to stay and let the bandits catch us? Or better yet, she could have just had up turn ourselves in.”
At this, Yua’s ears flattened as she shrank back, but only for a second. She clearly knew I wasn’t lying, at least not on purpose. Her suspicion was her way of being cautious. Elane, however, smirked, threw up her hands and returned to her seat.
I turned to Lucielle and she jumped.
“As for you, just keep in mind that, not only did she know your name without either of us bringing it up, but she also asked us to kill her.”
Attempting to delay us by showing us the key to her cell meant nothing when she knew I could just teleport inside. All it did was show how powerless she was to escape, if the means to do so was right next to her.
“She even mentioned that she knew Giulio was using a fake name,” I continued. “Which is probably not something our enemy would have let slip. So, I think we can trust her. Maybe not fully, but to an extent.”
“Maybe,” Yua said, uncrossing her arms. “But I still think it’s a mistake to trust a bandit. Vampire or not.”
“Yea… I can’t really argue with you there.”
I was still confident that the tears she showed us last night were real, but we had no way of knowing if her story was. I decided to trust her to the extent that I believe she really does plan to take down the other bandits and that’s it. Even if this is just revenge for locking her up on her part, our goals are still aligned.
“Speaking of trust,” Elane said. “Can we trust her hint about identifying their leader? What was it again?”
“… The ice witch of Trinavalle is a very dangerous person. I’ve never heard of the place, but I guess you have?”
She nodded. “I have, but are you sure she said Trinavalle and not Trinivale?”
“You know how good my memory is. I’m sure.”
“Why does it matter?” asked Lucielle.
“Because they are two different places. Trinavalle is in southern Dragma, while Trinivale is in east Gryffindale.”
“Great, but how does that help us?”
“I think… Hmm… Before I say anything, Husband, what was Elara’s full name again?”
“Elara Granidine, why?”
“I thought so… The surname Granidine is fairly common around Gryffindale. Specifically, the eastern Gryffindale nobility.”
“What?” Yua gasped. “Then the bartender is their leader? Are you sure?”
Still buried in her thoughts, Elane only half nodded, before scratching her head.
“I am. More often than not, whenever I visited a country, I was made to visit or stay with one noble or other. You know, we couldn’t exactly get away with bringing dozens of men through their borders without being seen every time.”
“And how’d you get away with it when you were seen?”
“Hoho. Captain Franz Brissgrav, was particularly good at playing the part of a spoiled noble brat, since his family served one. So, he lied and said he was out to visit neighboring countries on holiday, or whatever. The border guards and nobles usually ate it right up.”
“Usually, right. And was the nobleman you stayed with named Granidine?”
“Nope. I believe I got the name from reading a book that had a bunch of the country’s nobles in it.”
“Was that why you were there? Elane… Were you secretly some sort of super spy trying to track down state secrets?”
“Pfft. No. They let me into the library. And I thought the book was an atlas.”
A small, proud smirk colored her lips as she leaned back in her seat, letting her breasts flop off the backrest, before crossing her arms over it, as if her job in this was done.
“Seriously…?”
“What?” she huffed. “I can barely read the language, let alone speak it. I misread the title.”
Yua and I shared a look, then turned equally blank stares right back at the smug blonde. Meanwhile, Mana nuzzled against my chest, already half asleep again.
Did we really just crack the seal on one of this quest’s biggest mysteries because Elane wanted to get her rocks off by sneaking a peak at someone else’s maps?
Unawares of why this little factoid irked Yua and I, Lucielle’s eyes darted back and forth between the three of us, until she decided to break the silence.
“Anyways… Maybe we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Knowing the region a name comes from isn’t much to go off of.”
“Maybe not, but Elara does have the Mage class. Maybe she specializes in ice magic.”
“Make sense,” Elane said. “Maybe she uses her magic to chill her booze. That’s probably why she keeps most of it in the kitchen, instead of at the counter. If she doesn’t want her magic to be seen, then…”
“It makes sense,” I said, resting my chin on Mana’s head. “She may not be a literal Witch like our dear Apothecary friend, but if she’s running the bandits, it’s possible she earned the title deplorable Ice Witch from how she uses her magic.”
Although, I’d rather not think too long on any of the terrible ways ice magic could be used to earn such a title without actually killing anyone. Bandit boss or not, she definitely doesn’t have the Bandit or Murderer tags in her info box.
This is all so… weird. Just like last night, no even more than that, something felt off.
“But Elara’s been so kind to us in the guard, and pretty much everyone else,” Lucielle said. “She even gives me a free drink from time to time when I’m short on coin. It’s hard to believe she has anything to do with this outside of sharing a bed with Gino.”
“Appearances can be deceiving, apparently,” I said, but my mind was already elsewhere.
“Don’t forget that, just earlier, your priestess used a kid as a meat shield,” Elane said.
“And we’ve been wasting our time looking in all the wrong places, too,” Yua added.
“Who cares? Even if she is their leader, she doesn’t have the tag, right? It’s not like we could have known when she’s hiding in plain sight.”
“It does matter, Elane. She fed us, remember? She could have poisoned the food when she realized we were adventurers? Or your alcohol?”
“Please. Elara wouldn’t do that. There’s an unspoken, but highly-regarded code amongst bartenders and their patrons. Namely, you don’t fuck with your patron’s drinks. Forget getting caught. If one of us were to drop dead after eating her food, it’d ruin her reputation. Besides, if she doesn’t have the tag yet, it means she’s doing her best to keep her hands clean.”
“I guess… Alex, what do you think? Alex?”
“Hey, Husband!”
“Huh? What?”
Barely aware that my mind had drifted, I found all the girls looking at me again.
“Why are you making a face like someone just kicked you in the cock? Isn’t it good news that we know who’s probably in charge here?”
“Yea. It’s just… Why do you think Willomina worded her hint the way she did? All she had to do was give us something more direct like, the tavern owner likes to flirt with her customers, or something. We wouldn’t have had to think so hard on it.”
Was she expecting us to figure it out on our own? Why specifically bring up another country when she could have narrowed it down to make the answer more simple? How could that be possible if we’ve never even been to Gryffindale? And asking around would have just drawn more attention to us.
It’d be a risk for her to assume we’d work out what she really meant without outside help. Hell, if Elane hadn’t traveled the world, we’d still be guessing.
“Geez, Husband. That vampire’s really stuck herself in your head, hasn’t she? What, were her tits really that nice?”
“Elane…”
“No, wait,” Lucielle put up a hand. “He’s right. That vampire said she can’t share their plans without her head blowing up, right? Well, what if she worded her hint that way because the tavern is a part of their plans?”
“You mean she told us it’s part of their plans, by not telling us it’s part of their plans?”
“Elara’s well known throughout Villeverdure, since she helped finance its development into a city. Everyone knows she runs the Last Drop and, even if they didn’t, Gino constantly bringing up his gorgeous lover leaves little room for doubt.”
“Then he might have mentioned something about Elara’s magic when he brought Willomina food!”
The possibility was so clear in my head, I could practically see it. Giulio, sitting beside Willomina’s cell, using his chance to bring her food to gush about his love to someone that likely would’ve enjoyed listening, if anything to cure the boredom of being alone.
“Exactly! Mentioning the tavern alone probably wouldn’t have set off the collar, so she must have had a good reason to intentionally omit it anyway. Such as…”
“The tavern being a part of this somehow. Goddess…”
Willomina only gave us the one hint, and yet, she not only told us who to look out for, but she also told us what sort of magic we’d be against and that there was more to her business than meets the eye.
Talk about a loophole. Maybe Willomina really is a genius.
“But how is it part of their plans?” Yua asked.
“I don’t know that yet. But maybe that’s what we’re supposed to find out.”
“Think it has anything to do with whatever it is we’re supposed to see tonight at the church?”
“Who knows?”
I let out a slow breath as I checked the time on my HUD and Mana’s ear flicked against the breeze. We’d cracked part of the code, but the part Willomina wanted us to see wouldn’t happen for several more hours. In the meantime, I had somewhere to be.
Slipping my hand under her skirt, I gave Mana’s bottom another soft pat to wake her.
“We should get going,” I said, standing with Mana still in my arms. “I still have to train with Giulio.”
The day was still young, but in order to keep up our ruse I had to commit to training with the enemy.
Already understanding this, Yua and Elane got up as well. The latter took a moment to stretch, while Yua began to lift her shirt off. Lucielle’s cheeks reddened by several shades the moment she caught the sight of the soft undersides of Yua’s chest. I stopped my overly eager wife with a hand.
“What you’re wearing now is fine. Neither Giulio nor Nerissa suspect us, so there’s no need for armor. You’re not the ones training anyway.”
“I suppose,” Yua sighed, letting her shirt fall back down. “But what about you?”
I glanced at a rosy-cheeked Lucielle as she looked uncomfortably from Yua to Elane. The blonde was lacing up her boots, freely letting her massive breasts nearly spill out of her tank top as they slopped over her knee. Meanwhile, Mana fanned herself by flipping her skirt, repeatedly flashing the creamy thighs and delicate clothes beneath it. The fact that none but me noticed Lucielle’s discomfort made it abundantly clear that my girls were all far too easy-going around regular people.
Unlike them, I, as a man, had another, longer reason why I couldn’t change in front of our guest. And the brief delay of nudity switching clothes with my item box wouldn’t help me here.
“I’ll be fine. I think… My body needs to learn how to fight a swordsman. The best way to do that is by not cushioning the hits I take… Probably?”
Once Mana had graced us all with another adorable yawn, I let her down. She rubbed at her eyes while Yua helped her into her shoes.
“Hoho? Don’t look so excited, Husband.”
“What are you talking about? I am excited. I get to do my job while learning how to protect you all better. Two birds with one stone and all.”
“Mhmm. Sure.”
Elane smirked. Having forgone her breastplate, she grabbed her coat, slung her axe over her shoulder and let it rest against her back with practiced ease. Yua walked Mana to the door while Lucielle fidgeted on the bed. She drummed a quick, unflattering beat on her thighs, her eyes scanning the room like she didn’t know what to do with herself now that she was about to be left alone again. Then, with sharp, jerking movements, she slapped her knees, slipped off the bed and jumped to her feet as well.
“I think I’ll head out for a while.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. If that Willomina woman really didn’t tell them about us working together, I shouldn’t have to lock myself up in here. Besides, I’d like to get a proper cup of tea. The slop they serve here is practically tasteless. I’ll be back later.”
“Come on. You heard how many bandits there are now, right? We can’t keep an eye on all of them. Are you really willing to risk your life for tea?”
“Are you really going to risk your life training with a killer?
“… Does this have anything to do with me walking in on you changing yesterday? Because I was going to seal up the room before we left this time.”
Lucielle’s face flushed, and she covered her chest again. This time she added a defensive turn away from me.
“Th-That has nothing to do with it!”
“Alex, stop it and come here.”
“What? I … oh. Sorry, I…”
Just as I realized my mistake, Yua swooped in and yanked me backwards through the door by the collar of my shirt. Sighing through her nose, she ran her fingers through my hair smooth out my bedhead.
Still yawning and oblivious to the commotion, Mana plodded down the hall on her own towards the sound of clinking silverware and polite breakfast conversation filled the inn. Elane quietly joined us, but then stopped and turned back to Lucielle. From behind Yua’s finger comb, I was forced to watch as the wicked gears inside the blonde’s wicked mind churned and as her smirk quickly turned sly.
“Hey,” she said. “You might want to wait a few minutes before you leave.”
“And why is that?”
“Because if you’re seen leaving our room right after us, everyone’s going to think you snuck into our room in the middle of the night to get fucked silly. We do have a certain reputation here, you know?”
The implication hit Lucielle instantly, and her face flooded with a vivid pink. Her eyes widened in shock, and without warning, she sucked in a breath that could have deprived the rest of the country of oxygen had she not let it back out. Then, her cheeks burning with embarrassing realization, opened her mouth to scream.
“WHY W…!”
But before she could get the words out, Elane slammed the door shut, once again setting the muffling enchantment in place. Whatever screams she’d just earned were forever trapped in that room.
“Elane, just, why?”
“Just easing the tension. She’s been all pent up since you told her what happened and she looked like she could use a good scream.”
Looking utterly pleased with herself, Elane sauntered off after Mana and disappeared into the dining area.
“That woman is going to get me killed… if I don’t get me killed first.”
The worst part is that, after the other day, she wasn’t wrong to assume people would talk. Can’t exactly pretend I don’t know here if the people think we’re like that.