Chapter 530 - The Rising Moon VI

  If Vella was going to make her life a struggle, then I would need to prepare her. The problem was a matter of how.

  Specifically, I needed to devise a method that would not alert the goddess to my interference. Thankfully, Flux had added a layer of protection that had prevented the goddess of war from discovering my presence. Otherwise, we would’ve already lost our gamble. She’d already launched into a full-scale investigation the moment she realised that Claire was female.

  It was a huge relief.

  But it didn’t fix my problem. I still needed to find a way to prepare our daughter without being discovered—a way to strengthen and empower her without leveraging the system.

  Or at least, a way to defy her expectations.

  ___

  Jules plodded his way out of the colosseum with a frown. His mind was racing. There were so many different ways he could have come out on top. He probably would have benefited from pulling out Allegra's spell and he easily could have overwhelmed his opponent had he simply been more aggressive. Ephesus was a lot weaker than he'd expected; they'd only tied on account of his foolish hesitation.

  "That's a gloomy face if I've ever seen one. And here I thought you'd be celebrating," said Krail. Having waited by the gladiator gate, the elf put a hand on one of Jules’ shoulders and gave him a bit of a shake. Lana and her sister, who were also waiting in the doorway, joined him in offering a greeting. Theirs was a little quieter, however—a simple, synchronized nod.

  "Yeah, that's what happens when you get your ass kicked," said Jules. He accepted a cold towel from the elf and a mug from the myraen pair. He wasn't actually sweating, but the combination helped him unravel and de-stress either way. Conveniently, Boris popped into the space in front of him right as he downed his drink and readily disposed of the empty container. "Anyone else planning to show up?" He asked as he gave the lizard a pat.

  "I think Claire said something about dropping by with Sylvia shortly, but I doubt it'll be happening with all the eyes on her," said Krail. "Arciel is, unfortunately, a little too busy."

  "So just the fox and the snoose? We can start heading out if it's just them," said Jules with a stretch. "Knowing their asses, they’ll catch up in no time."

  With the other three following behind him, the clam set out into town. The streets were still empty, as they often were during the events. It was strange how different they became while the battles were ongoing. Back home, it was unthinkable for it to be so quiet in the middle of the day, even if there was a major event ongoing. Though, from what he’d heard, Vel’khagan’s streets were similarly empty. Everyone had come to Valencia just to see the battles unfold, which was to say that everyone in the capital had just watched him fuck everything up.

  His one saving grace was that they probably didn’t understand the extent of his failure.

  “Where did they say the place was again?” Krail raised the question as the party stopped in front of one of the wind tunnels—one of the newly installed transport devices that would take them around the city. It wouldn’t have been possible for the Vel’khanese to navigate Valencia without them. The streets were far too convoluted for any other means of transport.

  “Think she said it was to the south?” said Jules. “Honestly don’t know how the fuck that’s supposed to get us anywhere.”

  “It’s by a landmark,” said Lana.

  “Specifically, it should be by the giant marble fountain near the city’s southern border,” said her sister. “I’m pretty sure I know where it is.”

  “Well, what the hell are we standing around for then? Lead the goddamn way,” said Jules.

  Nodding, Tessa walked into the wind tunnel and shot up into the sky. Lana and Krail followed suit, leaving Jules as the last to enter. He bit his lips as he entered the mechanism. He’d been using the artifact a few times every day, but he still wasn’t used to the accompanying sensation. It always felt like he was slowly falling, even during the part where he was shot straight into the air. He wouldn’t have minded it as much if gravity took hold after he reached the maximum height, but the slow, gradual descent was jarring; it felt like he wasn’t in control even though he clearly was.

  Despite his discomfort, he followed the others through the sky and landed in a square with an oversized display. The fountain featured a massive statue of the goddess of war. A jetstream erupted from her skyward sword and fell like an umbrella over the plaza. There were only a few gaps in the curtain, though that was largely a product of the present population; the water would part for anyone who wished to pass.

  The restaurant they’d booked sat opposite the statue’s face. It was one of the city’s higher class establishments, as well as one of the few well-regarded destinations that kept its doors open while the battle was still ongoing. It was due more to a lack of interest than obstinate professionalism. Though they were technically locals, the snake-tailed ladies that ran the shop were more invested in finding husbands than the battle or its outcome. For them, at least, it was inconsequential. Even if Cadria somehow did lose, it was unlikely to be by much. The worst conceivable case ended with the nation making a few concessions and paying off some reparations. Their day-to-day lives were unaffected either way.

  That wasn’t true of all the former Sthenians. Some of the younger ones were well-integrated into Cadrian norms and took to their customs like fish to water, but their species was naturally long-lived and there were many who still followed the old ways.

  Perhaps, that too would be the fate that eventually fell upon the Vel’khanese. Jules wasn’t too fond of the idea, but his lack of a win certainly hadn’t helped stave it off. A part of it was the knowledge that Cadria was the enemy—he didn’t want Vel’khan to lose its identity and simply adopt that of its conqueror—but far more concerning was the risk that Vel’khan’s children would obsess over strength and get themselves killed just to prove that they could earn it. He'd seen too much of that back in the orphanage days already. There was no reason to further encourage the behaviour.

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  "Hi. We have a reservation." Tessa approached the hostess standing in front of the restaurant as soon as she landed.

  "The Vel'khanese party, right?" asked the woman. She was a larger lamia with olive grey scales and a pair of green-grey eyes to match.

  "Yes. I think we booked a private room?"

  "You have the largest room in the back. Right this way, please." The lady slithered over to the door and led the guests deeper into the building. Its construction was distinct, both inside and out. The front door was surrounded by a pair of massive, out-of-place pillars, and the walls were etched with thick grooves. Looking at them, Jules briefly thought of the ocean; they reminded him of the shapes taken by the waves as they battered against the shore. Wooden ornaments hung from the roof and doorways—small cylinders that served as tribute to the god thereof.

  The interior was just as curious. The ceiling was twice as tall as most other establishments, measuring over ten metres in total. All of the tables located in the open space were effectively stone cylinders. They had circular tops and were perfectly smooth all the way around. The largest among them were nearly twenty meters in diameter, and if the signs on the walls were any indication, they were meant to double as rings for any would-be combatants.

  Led by the hostess, the party walked through a door and into an enclosed space with private rooms all around. Some were just tiny booths, confined spaces meant for one or two, while others were full-on rooms ready to host a party. Either way, they were separated by large wooden panels with magic inscribed into their sides to keep any sound from leaking.

  The Vel'khanese were taken through the corridor and into a grand hall, where they found two Claires, a Sylvia, and three Borises seated at a small table by the window. The lizards lay flat in the corner, forming a tower with every subsequent pet a little bit smaller than the one beneath it. The Boris that had accompanied them scrambled over to the formation, climbed to the top, and immediately passed out. The only conscious weapon was the tiniest one, who sat on the table and stared at a board game with all of the others.

  “Oh! Hey guys!” said Sylvia. The fox, who was in her humanoid form, greeted the newcomers with a wave and a smile. The other two offered their greetings right after. Claire’s was a silent nod, while the smaller Claire’s was a timid wave. “We thought you’d take a bit longer, so we got started already. We can finish this round real quick, if you guys want to hop in.”

  “I’ll play,” said Lana. “Tessa will too.”

  “I would like to join the next round, but feel free to take your time with this one,” said Krail.

  “What about you, Jules?” asked Sylvia.

  “I’ll pass,” He waved the server over and ordered a few drinks before continuing. “We’ll need a sec to settle in anyway, and honestly, I ate too much shit to be in the mood for Stormbreak right now anyway.”

  “Oh, come on! You did fine!” said Sylvia.

  “Yeah, we both know that’s a fucking lie and a half.” Jules plopped down in front of the table. “I could’ve murked his ass.”

  “You did your best,” said Claire.

  “...Coming out of you, that sounds like an insult.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Claire, with a faint smile.

  “Yeah, somehow that doesn’t actually make me feel any better,” he grumbled.

  “I know,” said Claire. “But I did mean it. You did your best and you managed a tie. And that’s good enough.”

  Jules furrowed his brow and scrutinized her face. “Sounds like bullshit.”

  “It’s not,” she said. “A win would’ve been better, but this is fine too. You didn’t lose. That’s all that matters.”

  “I don’t really see how a tie’s supposed to be much better than a loss.”

  “A tie means that they’re still only at two points. They need four to win.”

  “Yeah, but it also means we didn’t get a point,” said Jules. “We’ll have to win the rest of the matches if we want to come out on top.”

  “We don’t need to,” said Claire, with a shrug. “All Vel’khan really needs is not to lose and two more nets us a draw.”

  “Oh… right.” Jules brought a hand to his chin. “You know what? You’re right.”

  “I’m always right.”

  “Not always!” chirped Sylvia, as she placed a few pieces on the map. “Remember the time that you thought you were only supposed to eat green coconuts because the brown ones were rotten?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Brown coconuts are good,” said Lana. “Green ones are too watery.”

  “Both kinds are bland,” said Claire.

  “They’re not that bad! I think you just didn’t like them ‘cause you were super bitter back then,” said Sylvia. “And ‘cause they were pretty much the only thing you had to eat.”

  “Let’s save the reminiscence for later.” Claire pinched the foxgirl’s nose with one hand while rolling a die with another. “Also, I’m declaring war on your kingdom.”

  “Huh? What the heck!? I thought we were supposed to have a truce! Wait, this is just because you’re mad about the coconut thing, isn’t it!?”

  “I’m not mad,” said Claire, as she grabbed all of her pieces and moved them straight north.

  “What do you mean, you’re not mad! You’re literally launching an all-out attack!” cried the fox. “You’re even leaving your southern front empty! Boris is going to run you over!”

  “It’ll be fine. I can raze your capital and make it back to protect mine so long as I mostly roll fives and sixes.”

  “Wait, you’re gonna do that thing with the dice again, aren’t you!? What the heck, Claire! You said you weren’t gonna cheat!”

  “I’m not cheating. I’m just abusing my dexterity.”

  “That’s basically the same thing!” said Sylvia, with a huff. “Rubia! Help!”

  “I can’t,” said the homunculus, quietly. “My soldiers are farming.”

  “I’ll send you food if you help! Claire’s gonna totally destroy me if you don’t!”

  Rubia paused, but shook her head.

  “Farming gets me more in the long run.”

  “Wha!? You traitor!”

  “Sorry.”

  Jules tried not to laugh, but eventually broke into a cackle.

  “Y’know what? Fuck it,” he said. “Count me in for the next round.”

  As much as he wanted to mope, he couldn’t bring himself to spend any more time lamenting. His friends and companions were right. He’d done his part well enough. The rest was up to the others.