“Higher!” Annie commanded as she watched four palace guards mount the two spear-skewered body parts onto the fortress wall. “Hm? Where was I? Oh, right!”
Annie turned back to face the gathered crowd she was talking to just a moment ago on the site of the recent battle. Her bloodied robe fluttered as she turned around, but the pink-haired princess kept an extraordinary cheery smile despite the bodies around her.
“As I was saying, that is just an example of the fate of those who would endanger our city with their petty plots and greedy schemes!” Annie spoke to the people with a loud but merry voice. “But I know that you are not like them! And when I was appointed as the new High Priest, I vowed to fight for every last one of you, citizens of the Kingdom of Larpsus, our loyal subjects, our friends!
“Make no mistake, I will fight for your very souls if I have to! I will not let you be swayed by the… Vile spells of the demons or lies of their underlings! In the meantime…”
Annie gestured forth to a squad of palace guards. Half a dozen of them rolled large, heavy wooden barrels. Two other men carried filled potato sacks over their shoulders.
“That useless moron of a captain promised a party and then cancelled it,” Annie said. “I say, let there be a party! Fresh first-class beer and black pixie dust for all!”
The people erupted in cheers and ran toward the guards who were about to open the goodies.
“I’m surprised she actually memorized the speech mother wrote for her,” Asuna said while looking down at the entire scene through a hole in the wall of the fortress. “Most of it, anyway…”
“She could have started with the gifts and nobody would have cared for the speech,” Samira said as she walked past the wide opening.
Asuna made sure not to fall behind her goth dress wearing older sister. The duo walked through the ruins deeper into Belmot’s fortress without any guards. Nor did they encounter anyone here thus far.
“So, this is our dear sister’s handywork?” Asuna asked.
“Without a doubt,” Samira nodded. “Well, the borrowed power from the armor she stole.”
“And you’re saying she’s… How did you put it? ‘Found and brought back’?”
“Oh, thank you for reminding me. What kind of absent-minded idiot openly talks about the fact that one of the heirs to the throne has gone missing?”
“I… Tch! It’s not like she’d ever even be considered!”
“That is irrelevant,” Samira said. “Demons in the city. One of the noble families slaughtered like dogs. The Purple Capes disintegrated and turned traitors. And you’d openly insinuate cracks within the royal family too? Especially when you know how important this week will be for mother.”
“Not like she’d even tell me what’s so important about it,” Asuna sulked.
“… You’re old enough to figure some things out for yourself. Like not putting your youngest sister in mortal danger.”
“I-You… You were supposed to be there from the start!!” Asuna shouted. “You keep scolding me for every little thing, but what about you!? Mother sent you to find our sister! Nothing! You were supposed to help us take care of these upstarts, and you let them escape!”
“My priority was ensuring Melody’s safety,” Samira remained utterly calm in spite of her sister shouting in her face, “Can you even imagine what mother would have done to you if—after you took Melody out of the palace—she’d end up kidnapped or killed?
“As for the remaining captain and her weirdo allies, it doesn’t even matter if they escaped or not. The whole city is now against them. And even if your soldiers fail to track down a giant fireball, we’ll find them sooner or later regardless-oh!”
Samira suddenly shifted her attention from Asuna to a body on the ground a few feet from them.
“W-What?” Asuna looked where Samira did.
The body was that of a man, a servant apparently, judging by his clothing, crushed by a fallen wooden beam.
“He died just recently,” Samira said as she slowly walked closer to the body. “Probably bled out slowly.”
Samira then raised her arm and pointed the palm of her open hand at the body. She tensed her fingers and pulled a mix of dark and red misty energy out of the body and sucked it into her arm.
“… How many is that now?” Asuna asked.
“Not nearly enough,” Samira responded.
“With the numbers that you’ve gathered over the years, don’t you have a small army at your disposal by now?” Asuna asked.
“You haven’t seen just how quickly an army can be wiped out,” Samira said and clenched her fist as the last traces of the misty energy were absorbed into her skin.
Asuna suddenly shoved Samira back and pressed her firmly against the wall.
“Oh, yeah, father never hesitated to send you into the thick of it,” Asuna said with a smile while looking up at her pale sister. “Was it because of this?” she asked as she playfully caressed Samira’s long, pointy ears.
“Your mood swings are as impressive as ever,” Samira said.
“Huh? After enduring your relentless lecturing, I think I’ve earned this,” Asuna whispered as she slid her hand across the thin fabric of Samira’s black dress.
Hm, so that hasn’t changed, Samira thought just before Asuna’s lips reached hers.
YuujiEveryleaf
Thank you for reading!
Consider supporting me and donating on my Patreon here. (69 extra chapters, also a free trial tier to check out the available stories before committing) 50k+ words per month across multiple stories
Special thanks for supporting my writing goes out to my generous S-ranked Patrons: VanDerWaalz, Aaron Keeler, Strngbrw, and Havenafuntime!
“Higher!” Annie commanded as she watched four palace guards mount the two spear-skewered body parts onto the fortress wall. “Hm? Where was I? Oh, right!”
Annie turned back to face the gathered crowd she was talking to just a moment ago on the site of the recent battle. Her bloodied robe fluttered as she turned around, but the pink-haired princess kept an extraordinary cheery smile despite the bodies around her.
“As I was saying, that is just an example of the fate of those who would endanger our city with their petty plots and greedy schemes!” Annie spoke to the people with a loud but merry voice. “But I know that you are not like them! And when I was appointed as the new High Priest, I vowed to fight for every last one of you, citizens of the Kingdom of Larpsus, our loyal subjects, our friends!
“Make no mistake, I will fight for your very souls if I have to! I will not let you be swayed by the… Vile spells of the demons or lies of their underlings! In the meantime…”
Annie gestured forth to a squad of palace guards. Half a dozen of them rolled large, heavy wooden barrels. Two other men carried filled potato sacks over their shoulders.
“That useless moron of a captain promised a party and then cancelled it,” Annie said. “I say, let there be a party! Fresh first-class beer and black pixie dust for all!”
The people erupted in cheers and ran toward the guards who were about to open the goodies.
“I’m surprised she actually memorized the speech mother wrote for her,” Asuna said while looking down at the entire scene through a hole in the wall of the fortress. “Most of it, anyway…”
“She could have started with the gifts and nobody would have cared for the speech,” Samira said as she walked past the wide opening.
Asuna made sure not to fall behind her goth dress wearing older sister. The duo walked through the ruins deeper into Belmot’s fortress without any guards. Nor did they encounter anyone here thus far.
“So, this is our dear sister’s handywork?” Asuna asked.
“Without a doubt,” Samira nodded. “Well, the borrowed power from the armor she stole.”
“And you’re saying she’s… How did you put it? ‘Found and brought back’?”
“Oh, thank you for reminding me. What kind of absent-minded idiot openly talks about the fact that one of the heirs to the throne has gone missing?”
“I… Tch! It’s not like she’d ever even be considered!”
“That is irrelevant,” Samira said. “Demons in the city. One of the noble families slaughtered like dogs. The Purple Capes disintegrated and turned traitors. And you’d openly insinuate cracks within the royal family too? Especially when you know how important this week will be for mother.”
“Not like she’d even tell me what’s so important about it,” Asuna sulked.
“… You’re old enough to figure some things out for yourself. Like not putting your youngest sister in mortal danger.”
“I-You… You were supposed to be there from the start!!” Asuna shouted. “You keep scolding me for every little thing, but what about you!? Mother sent you to find our sister! Nothing! You were supposed to help us take care of these upstarts, and you let them escape!”
“My priority was ensuring Melody’s safety,” Samira remained utterly calm in spite of her sister shouting in her face, “Can you even imagine what mother would have done to you if—after you took Melody out of the palace—she’d end up kidnapped or killed?
“As for the remaining captain and her weirdo allies, it doesn’t even matter if they escaped or not. The whole city is now against them. And even if your soldiers fail to track down a giant fireball, we’ll find them sooner or later regardless-oh!”
Samira suddenly shifted her attention from Asuna to a body on the ground a few feet from them.
“W-What?” Asuna looked where Samira did.
The body was that of a man, a servant apparently, judging by his clothing, crushed by a fallen wooden beam.
“He died just recently,” Samira said as she slowly walked closer to the body. “Probably bled out slowly.”
Samira then raised her arm and pointed the palm of her open hand at the body. She tensed her fingers and pulled a mix of dark and red misty energy out of the body and sucked it into her arm.
“… How many is that now?” Asuna asked.
“Not nearly enough,” Samira responded.
“With the numbers that you’ve gathered over the years, don’t you have a small army at your disposal by now?” Asuna asked.
“You haven’t seen just how quickly an army can be wiped out,” Samira said and clenched her fist as the last traces of the misty energy were absorbed into her skin.
Asuna suddenly shoved Samira back and pressed her firmly against the wall.
“Oh, yeah, father never hesitated to send you into the thick of it,” Asuna said with a smile while looking up at her pale sister. “Was it because of this?” she asked as she playfully caressed Samira’s long, pointy ears.
“Your mood swings are as impressive as ever,” Samira said.
“Huh? After enduring your relentless lecturing, I think I’ve earned this,” Asuna whispered as she slid her hand across the thin fabric of Samira’s black dress.
Hm, so that hasn’t changed, Samira thought just before Asuna’s lips reached hers.
YuujiEveryleaf
Thank you for reading!
Consider supporting me and donating on my Patreon here. (69 extra chapters, also a free trial tier to check out the available stories before committing) 50k+ words per month across multiple stories
Special thanks for supporting my writing goes out to my generous S-ranked Patrons: VanDerWaalz, Aaron Keeler, Strngbrw, and Havenafuntime!
