Chapter 100: A Matter of Loyalty

The music and dancing showed no sign of stopping in the great hall of the Tirelia Adventurers' Guild. It was a night of celebration. After all, many of the parties that had headed to the battlefield had managed to return alive.

Of course, without the teleportation magic circles, many of them would still be wandering across the ravaged fields.

"Neeeereeez! Where are you going?! You have no idea how much I missed you! Let's keep drinking!"

"I think I got the message… after the tenth time you told me…"

"Sorry, Nerez! He's just really happy we managed to make it back alive!" Edran was doing everything in his power to hold Bastor back as the giant tried to throw himself at Nerez with two tankards of beer in hand.

"I heard things got pretty rough."

"If it weren't for Farbound, we wouldn't be here to tell the tale," Edran said with a nod.

"Farbound. That's Jeanne's party, if I remember right. I imagine that has something to do with Yvene following Sorales around all night…"

"Come on, Nerez, learn a thing or two from the redhead in your party!" Bastor shouted again, pointing at Cerys, who was in the middle of a drinking contest with Kiel and many other adventurers.

Darien could also be seen nearby, trying to keep things under control, though a tankard of beer had just landed on him.

"Sorry, but between the stories I just heard and everything else that's happened, I've got a lot to think about." Nerez shook his head. "I want to step outside for some air."

"You heard the boss, big guy!" Ily exclaimed, grabbing Bastor by the arm opposite the one Edran was holding. "But don't worry, I'll drink for two! Let's go!"

Nerez could not help smiling at the sight of the giant being dragged away by the small visiare with drooping white ears, who looked tiny next to him.

Edran also said goodbye with a smile.

***

The Tirelia Adventurers' Guild had an inner courtyard with a fountain, greenery, and places to sit.

Nerez walked a few steps, letting the cool night air clear his thoughts a little, but before long his stroll brought him across an unexpected figure.

It was a young woman with long black hair adorned with a braid that fell over her chest, and bright amber eyes that seemed lost among the stars.

"They really don't look anything alike… Does that mean this isn't even the Milky Way?" Jeanne murmured, lost in thought.

"The Milky Way?" Nerez echoed, fighting back a mischievous laugh.

"Nerez! How long have you been there?!" Jeanne blurted, startled. "I-it's nothing! That's what we call the sky back where I'm from! It's really far away! That's why the skies don't look the same!"

"I see." Nerez chuckled as he sat beside her, choosing not to press the matter. "Am I bothering you?"

"Not at all! I was just getting some fresh air…"

"Getting some fresh air? That's what people do when they're worried… (or maybe that's just me)."

"Well… to be honest, I found out some bad news."

"Bad news? I heard your quest was a success…"

"Yes, ours was. Lady Alaika is safe in Galen, but…"

"Mm?"

"Don't worry! Sorry, I think I'm saying too much. This is supposed to be confidential information…" Jeanne apologized, reaching one hand behind her head. "Why did that just slip out? Something weird happens to me when I'm around you… I don't know how to describe it… You smell… familiar?"

Nerez knew exactly what she meant, and he found it fascinating that Jeanne could actually sense something like that. But he was in no hurry to look into it, and with everything happening in Phatar, he was in no mood for any more problems that night.

Instead, he let his mischievous side win out again.

"For your information, I bathe every day (even though I don't need to). Don't lump me in with you adventurers."

Jeanne stood up, both fists clenched at her sides.

"That's not what I meant! And I bathe every day too! When I can…" After sitting back down with a sigh, Jeanne tilted her head thoughtfully. "Aren't you an adventurer too?"

"Feeling any better?" Nerez asked with a smile, deftly avoiding the question.

"I don't see how…" Jeanne replied, though she was smiling too. "But I do feel a little more relaxed."

"Are you all going back?" Nerez asked, referring to the conflict the kingdom now found itself in. "To be honest, I think this goes beyond an adventurer's quest…"

"An undead army led by a Lich King is planning to lay siege to the second most important city in this kingdom…" Jeanne said, looking up at the sky once more. "I don't think it matters anymore whether we're soldiers of the kingdom or adventurers. We have to do what we can."

"Well, I can't argue with that logic."

"Ah! Speaking of that! Nerez!" Jeanne exclaimed, fixing him with a stare. "Aren't you going to help?! You're an expert on the undead!"

"You want me to stand in front of a mass of moving, rotting flesh? Are you crazy? I'm just getting used to having skeletons around…"

Which, thankfully, come fully armored at proficiency S.

"What kind of necromancer are you…"

"But seriously." Nerez smiled and shrugged. "What do you think the Church of the Sun would do if one of those necromancers they hate so much walked up to them and offered to help? With an undead army closing in, no less? I doubt they'd start applauding and prepare a feast for me."

"You're right. I think I heard something like that before... That's probably why Rin doesn't push you to get involved, even though we're desperately short-handed. Sorry, I really don't know much about this world… I mean, kingdom! Like I said, I'm from very far away!"

Nerez let out a chuckle. Truth be told, he also felt a certain nostalgia whenever he was with her. The difference was that he knew why.

"See? I keep saying more than I should when I'm around you… Not that I have any secrets!" Jeanne let out a sigh, though she couldn't help a small giggle either. "I think I'd better go. Darien must be tired of making sure Kiel behaves himself. And even though he doesn't look like it, Sorales is a lightweight when it comes to drinking. I need to make sure Yvene doesn't kidnap him."

"If you see Cerys, tell her I've fled the country."

Oddly enough, it looks like Ily really did mean to give me some time alone… I guess I don't have to worry about her.

Jeanne stood up with another laugh and headed toward the guild entrance, but not before turning around to wave goodbye.

…

Nerez remained beneath the starry sky, finally alone with his thoughts, though his worries seemed to have grown in the meantime.

"Despite how happy everyone is to have made it back alive, I imagine Hope's Compass will be heading to Galen too, just like Farbound…"

Nerez let out one of his usual sighs into the stillness of the night.

"If I mobilize Cerys, Erebion, Edrick, or any other god or the like… it could send the wrong signal and cause this whole situation to escalate."

It was then that Nerez turned his gaze toward one of the trees in the courtyard.

"If I need to ask Mirror for a favor, should I talk to Ily first?"

At the question, two bright magenta eyes appeared from behind the tree.

"My god, if you ordered us to dispose of our leader, we would only ask when."

…

"I hope that was an expression of loyalty toward me and not some kind of workplace dissatisfaction… I know Ily crosses the line a lot and doesn't look anything like a leader, but let's not go that far. All right?"

"Your wishes are our commands."

"Well… anyway… as I was saying, I need you to do me a favor."

***

The undead army's camp grew larger after every battle. Of course, not many members of that army actually needed tents.

Among the tents that had been set up, however, one stood out in particular. It was especially large and ostentatious, embroidered with fine purple thread depicting ancient tales. Though if you asked its owner, the events they depicted had still been fairly recent when he commissioned the tent.

Inside, that very owner was hosting a rather important guest. Neither of them, however, was exactly the sort of figure one would normally expect to find on a battlefield.

A skeleton and a little girl who looked no older than twelve.

"No matter how many times I am graced by your presence, the race my god created never ceases to amaze me," the skeleton said, one hand on his chin. "Are you truly almost two hundred years old, little one?"

The girl looked at him without bothering to hide her annoyance, then promptly pressed one slender fingertip against the temple of his skull.

"Kayrus, you talk as if you're older than me, even though you've spent the last five hundred years dead. Just because Nereziel gave you power and you can sustain all these undead doesn't make you more valuable than me." The girl crossed her arms and turned her back on him, then glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Don't forget that I'm the second vampire progenitor, personally adopted by the twins. I'm practically his granddaughter. Even if I've never met him…"

"Oh, of course that wasn't what I meant, Kamira!" Kayrus exclaimed, raising both hands in an attempt to placate her. "If I had lips, you could see my innocent smile right now!"

"Ha, someone who has to use the word 'innocent' couldn't sound any faker," Kamira replied, shaking her head.

Kayrus lowered his hands before clearing his throat.

"Well then, to the matter at hand. The siege of Galen is drawing near… To think that Galen, the seat of the Cult of Light, will become a city of the undead… Don't you find it romantic?"

"I seem to recall you were the one derailing the conversation… and you still haven't stopped doing it. Also, they've called themselves the Church of the Sun for centuries now. How many times do I have to repeat it?"

"A thousand apologies. My birdbrain and I… Ah, that's right, I don't have a brain at all!"

"…"

"Ahem, but back to Galen… I received word that the Fourth Light of the cult… of the Church of the Sun managed to escape the battlefield. A pity, considering you assured me the Four Lights wouldn't be there to protect the city." Kayrus lowered his head theatrically. "Of course, I'm not blaming you! Unexpected complications can happen to anyone, even the great Kamira… Still, things will now be a bit more complicated than I expected."

"Hah? Who do you take me for? If I said the Four Lights won't be in Galen to defend it, then they won't be."

Kamira snapped her fingers, and her shadow expanded across the ground.

"Oh! Is that the technique you inherited from the vampires' patron gods? The one created by the Underworld titan Erebion?"

But after those excited words, the green flames in Kayrus's eye sockets flared brighter at the sight of three black arms rising from the shadows. Their hands ended in sharp claws, each clutching a severed head.

"See? The Four Lights won't be protecting Galen. Only that Alaika woman managed to escape. Tortigor has already been reprimanded for it." Kamira's lips curled into a lopsided smile. "In the end, if you want something done right, it seems you have to do it yourself."

Kayrus looked at the three heads and raised one skeletal hand to cover the gap between his jaws.

"Kamira, my dear, you know I hold little affection for Helux's followers, but even my heart aches a little at the sight of this."

"What heart?"

"Haha! I was waiting for that retort!"

Kamira let out a sigh and shrugged. "Those bastards killed vampires without batting an eye, even children who had only been turned to cure their illnesses."

"My, my, how cruel life is… Good thing I don't have one anymore!"

Ignoring Kayrus's comments, Kamira returned the three heads to her shadow and began walking through the tent toward a small altar where a statuette of Nereziel had been enshrined.

"According to the twins, the more horrible their deaths were, the lighter the punishment they'll receive in the Deeps of the Underworld for everything they did in life. I'd say I did them a favor."

"Oh! As expected of the one who rules over eternal peace!" Kayrus proclaimed, raising his hands dramatically toward the heavens. "My god's mercy knows no bounds!"

Kamira carefully took the statuette in her small hands and studied it closely.

"Did you really meet him? Our god?" she asked at last, her voice little more than a sigh. "I had the pleasure of meeting Lady Selene many years ago, but no matter how much I begged, the twins never took me to the Underworld."

"My dear, I think you are the only one who would beg to be taken to the Underworld… Besides me!"

Kamira's only response was a look that seemed to say she would tear him apart and feed his bones to the dogs if he didn't answer that particular question soon, so Kayrus cleared his throat once more.

"I certainly did. He was an absolutely marvelous being, but such was the radiance of his divinity that I barely managed to get a proper look at his dashing face." Kayrus clasped his hands together and lifted his gaze toward the heavens. "Perhaps I could have seen him better… if I had eyes!"

…

"Kayrus, I hope you know your army only puts up with you because they're dead."