Chapter 307: A Heroic Breakthrough

Zuzia can feel it in her bones. Though it’s more like pushing against a wall continuously, the water jet cutter isn’t quite a consistent pressure, and it is continuous. The rock pattering against her armor in a continuous, uneven spray of shrapnel is chaotic, endless, and, frankly, annoying.

To put it simply, even though her body could probably handle going longer, Zuzia’s mind and soul are feeling exhausted from the slow, steady, continuous battering on her nerves. The sound, the pressure, the slight chill reaching her; all of it is prodding her senses.

She lets out a sigh as she releases the trigger, keeping the spray forward while the pressure rapidly goes from some portion of infinity towards zero at a rapid pace. For several seconds, the spray is strong enough to probably pressure-wash concrete, and after that, the cutter keeps spraying water. She looks behind her, finding the workers still doing their best to keep the biggest debris out of the tunnel with shovels, by hand, or whatever they need. They notice that she has stopped cutting, and she lets out a sigh.

“I’m calling for relief. Let’s head outside for a minute.”

“Understood, my Lady,” replies the nearest dattakorien soldier. He’s wearing full body armor, just like Zuzia, though his tail sticks out at the back and is noticeably soaked through. It’s a wonder he put up with it as long as he did.

Though, I guess the dattakoriens are more like tigers than mere cats, and… I think tigers like water? At least somewhat? I don’t know… Whatever.

The men file out carefully, and Zuzia follows after them. There are parts where she has to stoop a little, making her realize she was focused on depth over comfort, but no one mentioned it. It’s easy to tell when she reaches Neith’s section because he left a fair amount more room than Zuzia has been.

I wonder if I should have spent a little more time widening the tunnel… But, the priority is getting the miners out. And, given this depth…

Zuzia checks both directions a few times. She’s not a cave-diver, and the tunnel is pretty straight, but she’s pretty sure that she made it pretty close to the forty meter mark of the fifty they’ve estimated they need to go.

That means that Magnir has around half of the distance that Neith and Zuzia each accomplished in total to finish the mine.

But then, it’s not about being the one to break through, is it? A bunch of sweaty men, probably a bunch of bodies… Yeah, maybe I don’t want to be the one to break through. Magnir or Neith seem more suited for that…

Zuzia finds the blue dragon waiting on her, his own armor donned and ready, as well as Daniel, Sundenelle, Wenlianna, and (one or the other) Hekate standing nearby amidst the miners. Even the nobles from Ahmpur are keeping their distance, looking rather horrified at the fact that the Fievegal has made so much progress in a few hours. Night has fallen, but there are an abundance of lanterns, as well as the bus headlights providing a great deal of light in the immediate area of the rescue tunnel entrance.

Zuzia reports as ‘Centuria’, “My Liege, Sir Magnir, I estimate current depth to be around forty meters.”

Daniel, of course, uses his American ‘British Engineering system’ of measurements as one of the last holdouts not moved over to Metric. He is pretty good about converting the units into the measurements that Zenkon uses when needed, and he has a basic idea of metric, so he nods.

“I’ll get as far as I can,” replies Magnir. “Though, Dame Centuria, if you desire…”

She shakes her head. “If you can finish, just finish it. I don’t care about glory. I just hope the miners can be helped as soon as possible.”

Hekate’s little scheme, having pulled an apparently tamed benki out of her big fluffy tail, provided proof-positive that there are survivors inside. The Ahmpur miners outside have redoubled their efforts, since the Fievegal is content to keep going into the night, but they don’t possess armor of their own, so they can’t be at the front clearing major rubble from directly behind the cutter operator.

At best, they can form a bucket brigade for the biggest rocks or continue shovelling the gravel-sized pieces, but they are eager to see the operation through to completion.

“If the survivors listened to my note, they should be tapping on the floor of the mine, so you should be able to dig towards that,” states Hekate warmly.

Daniel asks, “Did you tell them where to tap the floor?”

Hekate twitches, and she fidgets with her hands. It seems pretty obvious that this is the real Hekate, since that reaction was too natural. But, Zuzia only cares that Daniel keeps his hands off of either of them when they’re playing this game.

Magnir replies, “We dragons can feel and hear vibrations pretty well, your Greatness. If the survivors are making noise, it will certainly help me gauge the proper depth. My Liege, your Grace, with your permission, I shall take over cutting.”

Sundenelle nods. “Please do, Sir Magnir. And, as with the others, if you feel that you need a break, don’t push yourself beyond your limits. We’ll figure it out after the fact.”

“Will do, your Grace. Thank you. Dame Centuria, Sir Magnir ready to relieve you.”

“Sir Magnir, I am relieved.” Zuzia hands over the cutter, and the blue dragon holds it high as he shouts for the miners and the Fievegal soldiers, “Let us break through and reach our comrades!”

“Raaaahhhh!” cheer the men gathered around. With that, the dragon jogs in, followed closely by a small army of blue collar workers excited to be in what feels like the final stretch.

Centuria says quietly, “By your leave, your Greatness, I wish to retire for a time.”

Hekate nods. “Of course! I’ll go with you. Daniel! Don’t flirt with Sundenelle without me!” She points accusatorally at the American.

Daniel looks directly at Hekate, but before he can reply, Sundenelle answers by wrapping her arms around Daniel’s bicep, saying, “But, your Greatness. Obviously we were going to be starting on my heir right here, right now.”

Hekate twitches angrily, her ears going rigid and her tail fluffing up to its absolute maximum, nearly dwarfing the girl herself with its fully-expanded size. She starts to object fiercely, but she halts herself, realizing that Sundenelle is obviously being sarcastic, since they’re out in the open, and the mission is still ongoing.

The snowy-haired Empress giggles, and she teases, “Obviously, we’re too busy for any real… how do you say it? ‘Tomshanigans’ and ‘Mefoolery’?”

Zuzia looks at Daniel, but she should probably be glad that she’s wearing a helmet. Her scowl of disgust would give away the facade, and more importantly, diminish Sundenelle’s position as Empress standing beside and favoring Daniel himself.

Hekate corrects with a growling tone. “Tomnanigans and shefoolery, I’ll have you know.”

What!? That’s not it either! Daniel! Zuzia wills her thoughts to reach Daniel, but he only glances at her once, proceeding to ignore her.

Ooooohhh. Yeah, you know, you crazy American turd. When we’re back at the Citadel… God, I wish I could just punch you in the face. Nicely. For all these ladies you’re infecting with your…

“Let’s go, Z-Centuria,” snaps Hekate. “There’s no speaking to them when they’re like this. Big stinky butts.”

It takes every shred of Zuzia’s willpower not to laugh. Hekate is ridiculously adorable, but Daniel doesn’t stop her from using crazy words. Words he almost certainly has a hand in teaching her in the first place.

I will have revenge for everyone. Mark my words, Daniel! You will rue the day you made this little furball strong. I’ll use her for my revenge! Hahahahah!

With those thoughts playing out, Zuzia bows politely to Daniel and Sundenelle, still doing her best to keep her laughter from bursting out. She lets out a cough to try to interrupt the suppressed giggles, following after Hekate quickly. She even jogs ahead to get the door for the ‘Royal bus’.

Once they’re inside, they find Senn, Neith, Treia, Veiranoei, and Doephluev waiting.

“Wait, what are you two doing back here?”

“What? Aren’t we allowed to see the final moment when you guys break through?” asks Treia playfully. “Even if it’s from the windows…”

Zuzia removes her helmet to relax finally, and Neith slides off of the bed behind Doephluev, saying, “Here, Zuzia. Please use the bed and rest. I know it’s more exhausting than it looks.”

The Polish brunette scoffs and nods. “Thanks. Don’t mind if I do. Once I get out of this armor, at least. And, please. Keep resting as well, Neith. I trust you not to do anything Daniel-like…”

Doephluev and Treia scoff and roll their eyes. Treia grumbles, “If that was true at all, Hekate wouldn’t be so innocent.”

Veiranoei adds softly as she looks to the side, “Yes. Daniel is quite respectful…”

“Ugh…” groans Zuzia. “It was a joke, but yeah, yeah. Either way, I trust Neith. Happy?”

Hekate ‘whispers’ halfway across the bus, “Neith, you have my permission to seduce Zuzia and marry her. As soon as possible. Before Daniel is seduced by her next.”

Neith laughs and Zuzia sighs, petting Hekate’s head. “I promise that won’t happen, Maleńka. Neith would be a ‘maybe’, but he’s already betrothed, and Daniel is a ‘never’, because I refuse to be a harem consort or a concubine or whatever. Personal principle. And, regardless, today’s not gonna be that day because I’m gross with sweat and God-knows what else, I’m tired, and it would be hard to be in the mood with… what’s probably inside that mine.”

Everyone is quiet.

Zuzia replies softly, “Sorry…”

“No, it’s not that…” murmurs Treia. “While you were cutting, Hekate sent a special agent through the lifeline. Don’t ask.” The gatonine Empress adds the last part when Zuzia’s face reveals her surprise. Treia continues, “He reported back, but he only mentioned that there are survivors, and a pretty good amount of them.”

Veiranoei adds softly, “Over fifty miners were unaccounted for at the time of the mine collapse, and it doesn’t sound like he saw all of them. So… it’s not that you said it, it’s just… You’re right… about what there may be to find in there, even after all of this.”

Hekate’s ears droop softly with the somber mood at the moment. She asks, “Am… Are we supposed to… We didn’t really know about it any sooner. Daniel had to make the cutters…”

Zuzia places a hand on her shoulder, catching the feldrok teen’s attention. She says softly and gently, “You’re not just talking about you, are you, Hekate?”

She shakes her head. “Daniel said… if he acted sooner, then the mana fire…”

“It’s the same problem. When a problem is new, but you don’t know what you’re up against… Sometimes it is the right answer to back away and gather information.” She sighs. “I’m glad Daniel isn’t being treated like a hero for what he did, because I still believe there was time… But, in the same vein… He made a terrible decision amongst terrible choices, and I acknowledge that. It’s why I’m not running all over the countryside trying to tell everyone what really happened. Acting swiftly does not mean acting without caution, and in this case, we’ve all been acting swiftly… maybe a little rashly at times… But, there are survivors. As long as none of us kill them ourselves, then we’re doing the best amount of ‘good’ we can.”

Neith adds, “It’s not our jobs to save every life in the world, your Greatness. We’ll run out of resources, people, and even our own lives trying to give ourselves to every cause, big and small. If you walk in there now and push Magnir out of the way to use your magic to blast through, or even crumble the rock away, assuming you had the perfect talent already to do so, the only thing that will come of that are more pleas in the future.”

Senn adds as well, “Miracle workers often get passed down through history, but usually only when there are few miracles. If you let yourself become an endless fountain of miracles, especially as Empress, you will not find yourself as praised or as worshipped as you think. Rather, you will be criticized when you can no longer keep up the pace. You will be seen as a tool that can only lose its sharpness, not gain value over time. I let myself fade into the legends that can rarely identify me at a glance because the world was passing me by one century at a time, and all I was doing was fighting endless battles, erecting monuments, and chasing away phantoms that only ever reappear.” The elven sorceress smiles a little bitterly as she looks out the window. “It’s not exclusive to humans, either. And, I’m obviously the most to blame for overextending myself…”

Zuzia summarizes for Hekate, who is taking all of it in. “Point is, sweet little Hekate, your first responsibility is to the Fievegal itself, so if you can’t help the rest of the world, it’s not your responsibility to do so. But, if you can help, and you want to help, then you do your best to help in the best way possible. That’s the right thing to do. If enough people want to help each other, then the world can be a pretty amazing place.” This time, Zuzia’s face turns a little distant as she smiles coldly at memories of her old world. “But, I’m not naive enough to tell you that’s all there is. Like Senn, er, uh, Yuna said, there are plenty of dirtbags out there that won’t hesitate to weaponize your charity against you, so it’s not something to be given without thought.”

Hekate nods. “Thank you all… My road to becoming a good Empress is obviously still a long one, but… Thank you all for supporting me on this journey.”

“Hey, we’re sisters, right?” replies Zuzia warmly. “Big sisters look after their little sisters, and if the time comes that little sisters can help out their big sisters, all the better. And, you already helped me today.”

Zuzia stretches and throws herself past Neith and Doephluev in a simple dive onto the bed, landing face down. She lets out a long sigh, appreciating the surprisingly soft bed, even if it has a bit of the same aroma that she is about to make worse thanks to Neith already having taken a nap. It’s wide enough for a couple of people to sleep comfortably on, but obviously it’s an extra, since it’s certainly not big enough to accommodate the Fievegal’s Emperor and everyone that might be riding with him.

“If you want, Maleńka… You can take a nap with me and Neith… You’ve been pretty busy all day.”

“Nah. Thank you, though. I’ve already left Daniel alone with too many evil temptresses. I should probably go back out there and watch him. Rest well, guys!” Hekate bounds out quickly, like a little busybody, and Zuzia lets out a soft sigh.

“Is Daniel the only thing she ever thinks about?”

Everyone remaining in the bus replies almost in sync, “Yes,” including a new voice; that of Kaeralegier, who has apparently been hovering in the air lazily above the bed as well.

Zuzia scoffs and gets comfortable laying on her chest and forearms to take a nap. “Poor little fuzzball… She could have anything she wants with her kind of power…”

“Perhaps,” replies Senn. “But, maybe she already does…”

***

It starts as an innocuous noise, easily dismissible at first because of how quiet and distant it is. The closest thing Magnir can relate it to would be a teaspoon tapping a glass across a busy banquet hall. Even if one of the individual ‘clinks’ makes it through, it’s so surrounded by ambient noise, that it drowns as a raindrop in a turbulent sea.

Magnir understands why the powerhouse beings that are Zuzia and Neith were unable to finish the whole tunnel alone. Neith might’ve tried, but it would’ve caught up with him. And, there’s a solid five seconds or more of danger provided by the cutter itself, even if it were to be dropped.

I wonder if there could be a safety dump for the pressure when the switch is released. Most likely, Daniel and Wenlianna didn’t think of it, but I’ll try to remember to bring it up.

Naturally, Magnir can feel it in his back and shoulders the most. He has the urge to shift and move his shoulders and neck, just to stay loose and ease the pressure for a moment. And, he obviously thinks about various things as he works.

Ping ping ping…

There it is again… thinks the blue dragon to himself. He releases the trigger and listens. Once the violent spray of water slows to a dribble, he listens.

He can hear the men working behind him, and one of the dattakoriens closest to Magnir asks, “Something wrong, Sir…” He trails off and perks up at the same time it’s reaching Magnir’s ears.

Ping ping ping ping…

This sound repeats, though not from a single source. If anything, there is a gathering sources very close to each other.

That’s it… The miners, thinks the dragon with a smile. And, as if to confirm this, the dattakoriens call out.

“Sir Magnir! Those are pickaxes!”

“I hear it too!” calls another. “It sounds like they’re in a circle! Straight ahead.”

Magnir lets out a boisterous laugh. “Indeed! Let’s not keep our friends waiting any longer!”

“Raaaaahhh!” Shout the men as Magnir aims and fires the cutter once more. He angles upward a little more, but he wants to be careful of heading straight for the miners themselves. Though it shouldn’t be lethal at the range where the rock will finally crumble into the mine shaft, the miners are dehydrated, exhausted, probably sick, and starving. They probably won’t survive a flick from a human child, let alone the stone-breaking force of the jet cutter.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

But, hopefully they’ll back away when water starts to spray in through the cracks that’ll form.

The pinging of metal gets closer and closer, such that it’s clear the miners are smacking pickaxes, shovels, hammers, and whatever else is metallic against the stone. He can tell the circle they’re making is on the wall, since it has a mostly-vertical profile, and they are spread out. The tapping has accelerated with even more excitement.

Magnir is probably within a single yard of reaching the end. He does his best to focus on the center of the circle, and the ‘floor hammering’ backs away. The miners aren’t fools. In fact, they work in this dangerous environment day in and day out. They’re backing away, likely because it’s just as noisy or noisier on their side.

Magnir didn’t see the full list of miners, but he knows there are shenwulves and gatonines among them, since night shift mine work is an easy job to get in most kingdoms for gatonines, especially, even the ones that are more discriminatory. So, it’s easy to understand that they could hear him coming much sooner than he has any idea where they are.

But now, he feels like he’s hearing voices as well as the metallic pings and clangs that are a chaotic chorus. Magnir has a pretty good idea where the tunnel wall is now, and he’s coming at a slight upslope towards it. All that’s left is to break through.

Magnir releases the trigger and depressurizes the cutter. He then pounds on the wall with his armored fist to make some noise, and he can hear the tapping finally stop. Magnir shouts, “Men of the mine! If you can hear me, back away! I’ll be breaking through with force!”

He can’t hear anything right away, but after a few moments, the dragon can hear metallic tapping once more, this time, nowhere near him.

Good. Let’s hope that’s the signal they’re all clear.

Magnir takes a breath and lets out a roar as he swings his left fist forward, cracking the wall. He punches the same spot again, and his fist breaks through.

He can feel air on the other side.

Men both behind him and in front of him scream out cheers.

“Hey! Calm down!” shouts the dragon. “We’re not through yet! Men of the mine! Keep your distance! The tool I’m using will cut you to pieces if you get caught by the streams!”

“Understood! Thank you! Thank you, Sir! We’re all far back!”

Magnir nods, backing up so he can resume using the cutter. “Clear behind!”

“Clear behind!” shouts one of the dattakoriens.

Magnir aims and resumes cutting.

As if the wall knows it has been defeated, it starts to crumble with even more ease than before. Pieces tumble into the mine itself, and others fall past Magnir’s feet as he ‘washes away’ the solid stone with five deadly streams of water.

I wonder what humans on Earth do that they come up with ideas like this. It is obviously faster than a pickaxe, but I do have to wonder; what human looked at a stone wall originally and decided water was the way to break through it?

Magnir smirks at the thought, since it’s a human on Zenkon that is the ‘first to come up with it’, though he’s pretty quick to admit that he’s ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, or even ‘standing on the shoulder of the man who stands upon giants’.

Earth must be a fascinating place, even for a dragon. Though, obviously deadly… The blue dragon chuckles to himself, and he can feel his own tension ebbing away as the hole into the mine shaft becomes a passable doorway for evacuation.

Magnir ducks inside, where magic lanterns are dimly keeping the light going. To his right are a huddle of filthy, exhausted, and obviously emaciated men of various sapient species; some are wearing hardened leather hats, others are bandaged. All of them are grimy and staring at Magnir.

It’s a long, awkward silence as the blue dragon surveys what’s around him. There aren’t any bodies immediately apparent where he is, but he’s only just inside a part of the tunnel.

Maybe it hasn’t sunk in for them yet.

“So… uh,... who’s ready to go home?” asks Magnir.

Tools clatter and clang to the ground, as well as knees when some of the men drop where they stand. Many of them let out cries of joy as tears start to flow from their faces. The relief flows almost as heavily as the water draining out of the tunnel, and one of the dattakorien men peeks through the hole.

“Gentlemen! The tunnel’s dangerous, but we’re ready to get you outside. Leave everything you don’t need immediately behind. Once you’re out, we’ll send in teams to retrieve those who are incapacitated.”

Magnir adds, “I’ll stay behind for now, since we have two of these cutters, meaning we can work from both directions if anything else happens. But, for now, let’s get you guys some fresh air.”

The men cheer again, and they slowly limp towards Magnir. Many of them hug him and pat his arms gratefully, others fold their hands in front of him, wishing blessings upon him. They do the same for the dattakoriens that are positioning to help them down through the tunnel.

“Thank you” and “Bless you” are said dozens, if not hundreds of times over the course of the next few minutes as Magnir waits patiently. He’s thankful for the moment to rest, and he is happy for the men who have survived. He counts twenty six men that are able to move themselves and slowly make their way out.

A gatonine man approaches, saying, “There… are more that way. We all gathered together, but… I don’t know… how many of them are alive.”

“We were told fifty three of you were unaccounted for,” replies the dragon gently. “I count twenty six here, including you.”

The man nods. “I think… I think there were thirty seven of us that were gathered at the area ahead.”

“Understood. Get outside and rest. Get warm, clean, fed. They’re all ready for you out there.”

“Thank you so much… What… do I call you?”

“My name is Sir Magnir of the Fievegal.”

“Sir Magnir… Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome, Mister…”

“Oh, right. Apologies, good Sir knight. I am Barraden. One of the night shift miners that was being relieved at the time.”

“I see. It’s night time now, but I hope you’ll enjoy the sky once more, Mister Barraden.”

Magnir places his hand on his chest and bows politely, and he observes the genuine smile on the gatonine’s face. The feline man hardly registers that he just spoke to a reptilian man in full armor, and he doesn’t bat an eye at the dattakoriens that help him into the escape tunnel. He walks like he was just told that he is free from all debts, all worries, all chance of sickness, and will never experience pain again. For a moment, Magnir imagines it feels like the truth to Barraden.

After all, Magnir had his moment feeling like that when Daniel told him in no uncertain terms that he would never lay claim to Roetta, and that Magnir and Roetta could be an exclusive couple for as long as they are happy.

For the first time, Magnir and Roetta, a pair of ‘lesser dragons’ were truly free.

And, that was before the contract was removed.

Magnir watches the last of the miners file out, and he orders, “Make sure all of them make it outside and inform the evacuation teams. I’ll get some rest in here for a moment.” The dragon takes a seat on a footstool, keeping his boot on the jet cutter to ensure it doesn’t wander off. It is extremely heavy, so it’s virtually unthinkable for anyone to steal it so easily, but he certainly doesn’t want to take any chances.

Hmm… Making the trigger mechanism something that can be detached by the operator would be nice… That way, I can simply ‘take the trigger off’, and it can’t be misfired while I’m resting. I wonder if I should get a notebook like Empress Wenlianna…

The dragon chuckles and leans his head back against the wall, waiting patiently for the rescue efforts to begin. He’s not here to carry bodies. He came to carve through rock, and in the event that the mountain shifts further and blocks the passage ways once more, as he told the others, he can work from one end while Zuzia and Neith work from the outside.

Fortunately, as the combined rescue teams from the Fievegal and the miners and soldiers of Ahmpur start filing in, Magnir suspects that they’re in the final stretch.

And, he’s kind of glad he stayed inside. The miners and soldiers cheer and pound their chests approvingly at Magnir, keeping high spirits at what has occurred, in spite of the job they’re about to undertake.

The hero celebrations outside are likely just ramping up, and having gotten just a taste of it, Magnir is content with being a faceless knight.

Though, of course, he does miss out on the true joy that takes place moments after the last of the ambulatory miners walks himself out.

***

Cheers and applause fill the air as men that look like they are one step from becoming skeletons make their way out of the emergency tunnel. Even the nobles from Ahmpur, what few stayed behind past nightfall, are stunned to see how many men survived the mine collapse, if only barely.

Normally, there is no ‘mine rescue’, unless the collapse is very shallow and magic can support evacuating. It can put a mine out of commission for months with a collapse as bad as this one, which means no income from the precious materials within.

Daniel knows little about how experts in a Victorian-esque or even the modern era truly determine how close a mine is to running dry. He knows that modern technology included various methods of subterranean imaging, like sonar and ground-penetrating radar… or something like that. And, in the case of strip mines, they go down and outwards level by level until the returns diminish beyond acceptable profit margins.

But, in a more historical era like the timeframe within which Daniel finds himself on Zenkon, which has both forward leaps and backwards stalls compared to the true Victorian era, he has no idea what methods the experts use. Either way, they likely wouldn’t shut down this mine, but there would have been no survivors within by the time they broke through.

Daniel flinches when he’s tackled from his right side, which is entirely a blind side now. Hekate giddily clings to his neck as she says, “We did it!! We saved them!”

Daniel smiles. He tempers his joy, since it is a great thing, but he can’t help but think about how many people didn’t make it out.

He is surprised when his left arm is suddenly wrapped in warmth. Sundenelle has a blanket draped over her shoulders to stay warm, but she has hugged Daniel’s arm rather affectionately as well.

She whispers, “Daniel… thank you…”

“I hardly did anything,” replies Daniel softly. “Nei-, er uh, Larven and Centuria should be out here, receiving their accolades.”

A new female voice says, “Yes, Dame Centuria indeed worked hard. She deserves all kinds of rewards. Beer. Beer would be good.”

Daniel looks to his left where one of the last people he expected to see is standing there. However, she’s wearing her ‘Grand Princess’ attire in the form of a rather nice dress, in spite of the dirty environment, and she’s nice and clean.

Daniel closes his eye to let out a silent sigh.

“Sister, you’ve decided to join us,” states the Mechanic warmly.

“Yes, I heard the commotion, and I thought it only fitting. Tell me, did R?ka Wodnika manage to break through in Sir Magnir’s hands?”

Daniel scowls at her lightly as she observes the people embracing, crying, cheering, laughing, and all around enjoying the rescue for what it is. He waves Zuzia closer with his right hand, since his left is claimed by Sundenelle.

Zuzia approaches without any sort of shame, concern, or hesitation, as if nothing at all is out of place.

Daniel whispers in English sharply, hoping she understands, “[First, ‘Dear Sister’; you already used Polish once in less than a day. And second; what in the hell are you doing out here?]”

Zuzia smiles, and she replies with a distinct accent to Daniel’s American ears, but with plenty of fluency, “[Dear Brother, you can’t possibly be worried, can you? How many people in this world would ever know the difference? They’re already mispronouncing it as ‘Vuwashnia Peroona’. If we were speaking Polish right now, they’d never know what I’m saying.]”

Daniel stares at her, even with Hekate and Sundenelle clinging to him for the moment.

The honey-haired brunette adds with a little more softness in her voice, “[Alright, I’ll admit, Serrentuk suggested through his daughter that I test the waters as ‘Grand Princess Zuzia’, and see if anyone recognizes me. Probably the only ones who might are the maids who saw me naked. But, our fluffy Empress saw to that.]” Zuzia touches her left chest, though her dress is more modest than Ryuogriar’s, so the magic mark that is there is currently hidden.

She adds in English, “[I can prove I’m not that divinely blessed girl whose name they never asked for. All thanks to my precious little sister.]”

Hekate growls in English while she hangs from Daniel’s shoulders, “[You know I can understand you, Zuzia. And, that sounded pretty flirtatious.]”

Zuzia pitches her head back slightly, letting out a long sigh. “Hekate… Your Greatness, I adore you, but please… I don’t want Daniel. I swear it. All the better that he be my brother, instead of anything else. I would never do anything like that with my brother.” She scowls lightly at Daniel. “I can only speak for myself, though.”

“Excuse me, I actually had a sister and a brother,” retorts Daniel. “I can say with pride that I am not a siscon. I’d have murdered anyone to protect her if it came to that, but I didn’t want to keep her all to myself.”

Zuzia asks gently, “She… passed away?”

Daniel’s expression softens, and he replies, “Yes… Long before I came to Zenkon. I was… fine for a long time, until the Fellmother got hold of those memories and tried to twist them.” A sort of cold and lifeless smile crosses Daniel’s lips, approaching a grin but far from warm and happy. “One more reason that, if and when the day comes that she appears, I will happily dedicate every shred of my imagination, the Citadel, and the heinous means by which we destroyed each other on Earth to making her a pasty stain on the nearest hilltop.”

Zuzia scoffs. “I’d expect you to say you want to make her suffer.”

“She’s the ultimate final boss. … Hopefully. And, I strive not to be a generic shounen protagonist. She’s too much of a threat to play half-measures and mind games with. If I can kill her in the first strike, I will. And, I don’t intend to try a mere rifle against her for that first strike.”

Hekate hugs his neck more firmly, and he can feel Sundenelle squeeze his sleeve with her hands.

Suddenly, Daniel is hugged from behind as well, entangling him with a short woman’s stature. When he looks, he catches a glimpse of darker brunette hair. “Wenlie-Mukori?”

He notices Jeavana behind him as well, and she winks with a kissy-face, waving at Daniel. She just urged Wenlianna forward for a change, and the Stalvaltan Empress embraces him firmly.

Wenlianna adds softly, “I… don’t want to make weapons, Mukori, but… if I can help you make the ultimate armor… I will gladly do so.”

Daniel smiles gently, and he places his hand on her forearm, which is wrapped around his torso just above his navel. “Mukori, I will be counting on you for a long time.”

Wenlianna hugs Daniel’s back more firmly for a minute, and she admits softly, “Jeavana pushed me…”

The American chuckles softly. “She’s mischievously attentive in that regard…”

Wenlianna nods against him, feeling more comfortable with hugging him in spite of Hekate and Sundenelle already claiming parts of him.

It’s then that a gatonine unfamiliar to all of them approaches. He’s a man around Daniel’s age, though he could be younger or older, since he looks a bit like a zombie just before transformation.

“E-Excuse me… Please forgive me, my Lord, my Ladies. I was told I could thank the person who sent the message with the benki…”

Everyone in Daniel’s group looks at Hekate, hanging from his shoulder.

The gatonine man continues, “My name is Barraden, one of the miners that was rescued.” He bows at Hekate, seeming to piece together that everyone’s looks were directed at the one he asked for, regardless of what he knew prior.

“Lady Heekatee, thank you so much. Your letter… it helped reassure us in the darkness. We are forever in your debt, glorious and kind Lady Heekatee.”

Hekate herself stammers, “H-Heekatee?”

“I was touched by your letter,” continues Barraden. “And, we instantly set to tapping our tools on the stone. The great lord Herith gave us our initial hope with the divine lance, but it’s clear that he guided you to us.” Barraden bows deeply, repeating once more, “Thank you so much, Heekatee. And, the Five-gall. I will never forget this debt. Please, excuse me.”

Barraden bows at each of them before leaving to meet with the people who could reasonably be assumed to be his family.

Hekate murmurs softly once more, “H-Heekatee?”

Zuzia is the first to burst into laughter, doubling over. Wenlianna laughs as well, while Sundenelle does her best to keep her laughter a little suppressed against Daniel’s bicep. But, the mechanic-Emperor himself can’t help but chuckle as well. Daniel tries to say rationally, “I-hah-I know why… But.. hahaha…” He starts laughing as Zuzia and Wenlianna lose it.

“How could it be ‘Heekatee’!?” whines Hekate. “I-... I wrote it normal…”

Daniel laughs as he reaches his right hand up to pet her head. “Don’t worry, Heekatee…”

“Graaah!” Hekate growls before biting Daniel’s shoulder, and he winces, grunting in pain.

“Damn! That hurts, Heeka-...!” He’s cut off when Hekate bites deeper, and he groans in absolute agony for a moment, since she has probably drawn blood now. “On pain of death, it’ll never be said again.” Daniel says it, but just as Hekate is relaxing her bite, he adds, “Heekatee…” And starts laughing even as she bites him anew, violently shaking her tail back and forth in rage. “I’ll kill you until I can revive you, Daniel! Feel my wrath! Graaahhhh!” Hekate bites him again, and he has to pull his arm away from Sundenelle to fight off Hekate’s toothy assault.

Zuzia cackles, “Yessss. That’s it, Maleńka! He is your enemy! Come to the dark side! Destroy him! Huwah heh heh heh heh!” She continues laughing at Daniel, since she’s already in a laughing mood from ‘Heekatee’.

Hekate relaxes her attack on Daniel to growl, “I’m a little angry at Zuzia now…”

“Yes, you most certainly are,” replies Daniel quickly, rolling with the flow. He flings his right arm out, saying, “Go, Hekate! I choose you!”

“O, Jezu!” Zuzia starts running as Hekate launches herself off of Daniel to pursue the Polish woman, since, other than Barraden, most of the miners are distracted with their fellows and family members, reassuring them and welcoming them back to safety. They don’t notice the Empress of the most powerful nation on the continent chasing that same nation’s newly coronated Grand Princess, nor have they realized that the lone Empress Regnant of the Grand Zenkon Empire is watching everything play out at the side of her betrothed.

Wenlianna slowly shifts to Daniel’s right side, where Hekate was, and she hugs Daniel’s right arm. “A-... Are you alright, Mukori?”

Daniel smiles and he kisses her forehead. “I’m fine, Mukori. Thank you for all of your hard work.”

Wenlianna blushes and smiles, and Sundenelle clears her throat.

“Daniel, if you show such blatant favoritism to one consort…”

Daniel kisses Sundenelle’s forehead as well. He teases, “Wenlianna-Mukori is no longer a maiden. If you’d like to join her…”

Sundenelle blushes as she looks at Daniel, gasping at his crass words. She was born and raised on aristocratic sensibilities, so saying something so directly out in the open definitely crosses some lines. It would cross some lines on Modern Earth as well, though the implications were more lax either way.

At least in America.

“D-Mukori!” snaps Wenlianna. She quickly moves around in front of him, continuing to hug his right side, primarily. “Th-The Union with the Empire is no mere jest! Rules must be followed. S-Strictly! And, she is late!”

Daniel holds Wenlianna’s shoulders gently. He replies softly, “Mukori, it’s adorable when you’re jealous. Though, I’m sorry, you have to feel jealous…”

She blushes and looks away from Daniel and Sundenelle.

And, as if summoned by her name being said three times, Hekate pounces out of nowhere, narrowly caught at the armpits by Daniel, who was the only one expecting it.

“Daniel! You were flirting with Sundenelle! Dieee!”

The American replies casually as he holds the flailing feldrok teen at arm’s length, “That’s pretty violent…”

Wenlianna points out, “H-Hekate, the others are coming over…”

Hekate perks up, and she immediately frees herself from Daniel’s hands to resume her ‘regal’ Imperial posture. “Yes, indeed!” She stands as proud as she possibly can with her hands on her hips. “Let them pay homage to the Fievegal. Not only do we outlast the mountains, but now, we conquer them as well. Heh heh heh!” Hekate grins at the three humans huddled together only by virtue of the fact that Wenlianna and Sundenelle have not yet decided to let go of Daniel.

“Oh great and wise Empress Hekate,” starts Daniel. “Please bestow your wisdom… No, Sundenelle, you better handle this…”

Hekate gasps, looking up at Daniel as the betrayal flashes across her face. “Y-You fiend!”

Daniel laughs and shakes his head. “Jokes aside, both of you should take charge. Slow and steady, Hekate. The miners are safe now, so don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“You’re a head of yourself!” snaps Hekate quietly, trying to be defiant, but also not look like a child in front of anyone outside of the Fievegal’s sphere of influence.

As she and Sundenelle start to step forward to address everyone, Zuzia walks up beside Daniel again. She murmurs, “You and I need to talk, Daniel…”

Daniel and Wenlianna look at her, and she looks at Wenlianna for only a moment. She adds in English, “[I know she can probably understand, too, but even so… You and I need to have a private chat about that little furball. If you refuse…]”

“It’s fine,” replies Daniel in Eastern Imperial Trade language. “Anytime you want to chat, we can chat.” He turns a little more serious, saying, “Whatever the topic, I hope it remains at just a ‘chat’.”

Zuzia smiles, noticing Hekate glaring at the two of them briefly. She adds warmly, “Yes. I have no intention to murder anyone in cold blood, and certainly not you, at this point. Too many people I care about would be upset by that.” She points, saying teasingly at a whisper, “But, be careful, o’ Harbinger; I might start flirting with you for real, if only to get you murdered by someone else.” She grins, and Daniel looks at Hekate.

Wenlianna asks quietly, “Aren’t Hekate’s eyes normally gold?”

Daniel chuckles. He’s not sure if it’s an illusion, but Hekate’s eyes do appear to be a bright and polished ruby-red, not unlike Sundenelle’s.

But, Hekate’s would be in direct response to her emotions instead of a natural eye color. And, she only resists returning to the offensive because she has to act like an Empress.

And, Daniel definitely has an enemy on that front in Zuzia, his fellow otherworlder.

***