Chapter Ninety-Five: Sharpening Resolve – Part Two

    Tris’s genuine show of kindness to Elly and the others happened whether or not Lord Springfield was present.

    The cynical part of me wondered if it was all an act. The world would forgive me for thinking like that...considering the hell I endured since coming here.

    Over the rest of the day, she left a few times to handle business in the village with Niva and Primrose. The former was soft-spoken and skittish, and the latter struck me as the type of spirit that didn’t quite know what to say to strangers. A yellow slime named Lei was often around them. Lord Springfield said they had adopted it the last time they came here.

    My team often had the mansion to ourselves. Mary mentioned something she had admitted to us on the boat ride here.

    She said she felt like a homunculus pretending to be human—someone without any sense of direction. She had no purpose. She didn''t have an innate desire or flame to guide her heart.

    Mary really had nothing except us and an overwhelming case of Imposter Syndrome.

    It didn’t feel like she could do anything right. She knew she had friends in us, but that didn’t account for anything when her birth was...what it was.

    Mary had said she felt odd at the kindness Lord Springfield and her entourage had shown her. Elly and Ami said something similar, and Greggie was astounded by the depths of Lord Springfield’s knowledge of firearms. He said he felt at genuine ease for the first time in months—a sentiment everyone agreed with.

    Even me... I felt a sense of safety...that I couldn’t feel elsewhere. The sensation was foreign. It was almost enough to make me vomit because my body didn’t recognize it.

    It differed from what I felt after revealing the truth to my friends.

    Elly gushed about Surtr. It was no secret she wanted to ride a lion in a concert, but the blue-haired idol had refused to even bring that up. She knew it would be disrespectful, yet that didn’t stop her from dreaming. “He’s just like a big house cat. He licks his cute paws and rubs his fluffy head... Oh, and you totally see those teefers when he yawns! Kyaaa!!! I just wanna rub my face against his belly and use him like a pillow!!” she excitedly said, rocking back and forth like an excited schoolgirl. “I wanna touch his murder mittens! His paws are bigger than my head!”

    Ami thought Surtr was intimidating. Melusine echoed that and added she felt something that made her heart slow to a crawl when she looked at him. It was something about that fire, she said, that surged an urge of weakness in her. She needed Mary’s comforting touch to calm down.

    Tilde, the pleasant fairy maid, was the one we discussed next. She often mentioned the past during their talks and kept embarrassing Melusine by saying how honorable and just she was as a queen. Lord Springfield found it intriguing and had asked for a few more stories. She fully believed in the Melusine’s past—partly because she was also 1,000 years old.

    She had even visited Melusine’s kingdom long ago and accurately brought up even the tiniest details Melusine had forgotten about. The shine in her pink eyes could have blinded a lightbulb from how happy she was to have two more people who knew about the life she once led.

    Melusine didn’t know how Tilde survived a thousand years. Likewise, our Crystal Fairy said she couldn’t tell Tilde the truth.

    It was a mutual mystery.

    That reminiscing also eased Melusine’s heart. She was still uncomfortable around the lion. He was 8-feet tall, so he dwarfed everyone here.

    I merely wondered what kind of power he held.

    Or what about Tris? What strength did she carry? I didn’t detect anything concerning—

    Now that I think about it... I didn’t feel anything from Lord Springfield or Tris. Or even Tilde. It''s like their mana doesn''t exist. Not even I can harbor that type of precise control.

    “What’s that look for?” Elly poked Keeth’s cheeks. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen that serious stare. Are you thinking about a new project?”

    “I am,” he replied. “It’s about Niva’s prosthetics. I... I think I have an idea of how to improve them.””

    “You’re not talking about a nerve mesh, are you?” I asked. “We don’t have any.”

    “We don’t,” he added. “What if I can use my ability on more than materials and mana? Let’s say we encounter someone with a cut. Is it possible for me to ‘mold’ their skin over the wound like an organic bandage? If so, can I directly link someone’s nerves to their prosthetic by replicating a nerve mesh? The mesh creates artificial nerves, so if I can extend the biological ones...”

    “Is such a thing even possible?” Melusine asked.

    "It was in our world. Science and healthcare have advanced so much that prosthetics are controlled as if they were your genuine limbs. Nerve mesh accomplishes something similar, except it''s rudimentary and doesn''t involve electrodes intercepting thoughts from the brain. Those commands are given to the prosthetic''s microchips, which send instructions to the artificial muscle fibers to mimic human movement."

    "I..."

    "Ha... I think that explanation went over her head, Qutie," said Elly.

    "Ah, sorry about that. It''s obtuse when you look at the science. It''s almost magic when you hear it explained like that."

    “I’ve never tried to use it on skin before. I don’t know how to approach Lord Springfield with my idea," said Keeth, getting us back on track.

    “Wanna test it on me?” Ami suddenly asked. “I can cut my hand. If it doesn’t work, Qutie can heal me. Right?” Elly’s face was apprehensive. She relented when I swapped to my strongest healing tome. “I wanna help Niva. I wanna see her do all the things we take for granted.”

    “Here,” said Mary. She tossed her storage monster from her mana sphere and retrieved a towel. Ami laid her hand on it, and Mary took a knife, making the cut.

    Keeth’s hands glowed as he touched Ami’s dark skin, and she winced. Keeth said the feeling differed. He didn’t mean to hurt her, “I’m okay. Go on. Continue. I can take it,” she said.

    A few minutes later...

    “No way...” Elly was astonished.

    Keeth had done it—not how he intended. He ‘extracted’ the topmost layer of Ami’s skin, leaving behind a discolored square. He stretched and folded it to strengthen it, then laid it over the cut. Keeth gently pressed the skin in and moved his shivering hands away. Sweat beamed down his head. His mana had dropped substantially. “Does it hurt?”

    “No... Not anymore.” Ami touched where the cut had been. “The part where you took it doesn’t feel different.”

    “There exists a necromantic skill called [Fleshcrafting],” said Melusine. “It works similar to what you’ve just done.”

    “Do you think I can use it on nerves?”

    “I honestly don’t know,” I said. “Bringing it up won''t be a mistake, I think. Lord Springfield’s lived for 1,000 years, so if anyone would know, it’d be her.”

    “Qutie, can you heal Niva’s arms and legs? Can you bring them back? Your healing magic is super powerful.”

    “I could if the loss was recent,” I answered Ami.

    “I somehow doubt that,” said Mary. “Niva seems like she’s used to them.”

    “The girl does hold some mastery over them,” added Melusine, her voice soft and low. “It’s most likely been too long. I’m certain there are spells to bring them back, but we don’t know them.”

    Is that a failure on my part? I wish I had more healing tomes.

    Tris prepared dinner after Lord Springfield and her entourage returned. The topic turned to us, and after talking, Lord Springfield retrieved her flute and played a melody as Elly sang. The idol danced, and Melusine and Tilde joined in before supper was served.

    “So... You use dancing to exercise?” Lord Springfield asked during dinner. We all had steak and potatoes. As a High Elf, she couldn’t have meat, so she ate a plate of greens and a bowl of corn.

    “Totally. The best way to stay in shape is to move. And why not do something extra fun?” Elly replied. “We also work out in the mornings. Push-ups, sit-ups, that type of thing."

    “Even Soul Warriors need to train their bodies,” I added.

    "Master? Remember the stuff you made on the boat? Can I—"

    “I was thinking the same thing. It’s fine. Go ahead.”

    “Sweet! Thank you!”

    After dinner, Tilde took us to a wide-open room on the second floor. Lord Springfield raised her flute to her lips and played a soft melody as...a wooden gym materialized? It... honestly looked like what you’d find inside an actual gym—filled with strength machines, dumbbells, barbells, weight plates, and even a treadmill!

    “Another surprise, Master?!”

    “You can thank Tris for the inspiration behind [Wooden Gym]. Yes. We could’ve told you, but your expression was worth it.”

    “Awesome! Anyway... Ta-da!!! It’s my own gym! You guys are free to use it, right?” Tilde looked at her Master. She covered her mouth and lightly laughed.

    Tilde, Ami, Elly, Greggie, and Melusine enjoyed an evening workout with Niva and Primrose.

    The prosthetics-wearing girl put her all into it and asked for help to improve her form, which Ami gladly offered. She assisted Primrose, too, although a spirit like her technically didn’t need to strengthen her body via this method.

    I guess she didn’t want to be left out.

    Everyone else returned to the living room. “I’m aware of spell crafting, but I’ve never encountered anything like that.”

    “Imagination is crucial, Quella, in magic. It is not enough to ask the mana. It’s about giving the mana the inventive qualities to do what you require of it. Precision is important. Too much, however, will dilute your request. Even still, being too broad will inflate the mana cost. [Wooden Gym] consists of over a dozen individual spells linked together. It enables one to keep the scope within a predetermined limit while allowing the addition or removal of individual spells with minimal issues. Its modular nature is its benefit."

    “How very interesting... Oh, Lord Springfield?”

    “Yes?”

    “I have a proposal. It’s about Niva and her prosthetics...” I brought up Keeth’s suggestion.

    Lord Springfield was taken aback, and she was more surprised than anything. “Is such a thing really possible?”

    “I don’t wish to make any promises, but my initial experiments were successful,” added Keeth. “I grafted Ami’s skin to cover a small cut like an organic bandage, so the theory’s sound.”

    “The overall nerve structure of humans, elves, ogres, oni, and beastfolk are mostly similar when accounting for their limbs. It differs when you add horns, tails, wings, or scales, but I have already produced a nerve schematic.” Tris summoned a book from nowhere and showed various drawings of Niva’s central and peripheral nervous systems. “As I’ve said, information is my forte,” added the Lionfolk when she saw my expression.

    This woman...felt like she had an answer for everything. Just how far did her knowledge extend? I knew books and education in this world didn’t come close to our world, so her sharp mind was almost on the border of frightening.

    “For this to work, the nerves must be pulled into pathways we drill in the prosthetics and ensure they’re properly connected. Luckily, Niva still has biological limbs we can reference. My lord, shall I go to Enap’s workshop and request the appropriate tools?”

    “A moment. Keeth.”

    “Ye—Yes, Lord Springfield?” Lord Springfield’s eyes turned stern.

    “While I thank you for offering to do this, you must know that this has not been done before. At least, not that I am aware of. Mythril is not something I have a lot of. If this doesn’t work...”

    “We have the necessary materials to recreate what Niva already has. I will pay Enap double and apologize to him for ruining his work. I cannot lie and give you a guarantee that this will work, but I have faith in my abilities. Lord Springfield, modeling...is all I’ve ever known. If there’s one thing in this world that I can be proud of, it’s the sole skill given to me by my Soul Crystal. Please permit me to try.”

    Lord Springfield remained silent. She possibly pondered the chances and internally argued if the risks were worth it. I didn’t know how many Soul Warriors she had met or if she had any negative experiences with them. I did, however, know that Niva was important to her. If she wasn’t, then why did she call her Mila? Nicknames were exclusive for those you were close to.

    “Very well. The final decision lies with Niva. I shall ask her tonight, and we shall continue this discussion in the morning. If she agrees, Tris will offer her assistance. She’s far more knowledgeable than I, so heed her words well.”

    “Don’t overwork yourself, okay? You had a strenuous workout, and now you’re doing this when you have that surgery tomorrow.”

    “Primrose and I have thought about that. We want to take it easy and ease into things, then we can increase the tempo after the procedure’s finished. I mean, after the recovery period.”

    “Okay. Oh, and be sure to get some good sleep.”

    “We will. Good night, Mila. We’ll see you in the morning, okay? We love you.”

    “I love you too. Good night.” Primrose left with her summoner, and I collapsed to the bed, sighing.

    “I’m...just a big coward, aren’t I?”

    “Your favorite fairy won’t allow her favorite Master to talk herself down like that!” Tilde hopped on the bed and lay beside me. “You did good. Better than anyone could’ve asked for. It’ll get easier with time. I know how you feel. I really do. Remember what I said. You will never, ever, ever have to reveal the truth to them. And I think that’s for the best. Maybe something will happen to change that, so let’s leave that problem to future you, okay? Focus on the now, Master.”

    “Is it? Tilde, I wish they had wanted me to die. I wished their diaries held dark secrets...about being happy a useless sack of shit like me had gotten what they deserved. Then I’d be free to end their lives... I’d be free to put them through hell. So...why? Why did they...have to care so much about a—”

    “Stop it. Just stop, Master!”

    “Just say it. Say it’s okay for me to kill them. Just lie to me...” I leaned up and summoned my shotgun... Just what kind of look did I have in my eyes? “I can lead them out of the village. Please, lie and say I can kill them. That it won’t change me... I can’t keep acting like this. Tris, you’re smart. I know you can help me use their strength better than them. I know you’ve already analyzed them from head to toe. So that’s another reason to kill them now. I don’t need their help. Besides, I’ve killed thousands. Innocents died in the Atrix Revolution. Their blood dirties my hands. So what’s seven more? Seven more lives that don’t matter... They’re going to die anyway. I can poison them. Or burn them. Or... Hey, Tris? You can come up with surefire ways to kill them, right? I know you have a few dozen—"

    Tilde snatched my gun and threw it away. My fairy forced me to look at her...

    I had made her cry.

    I felt like shit.

    Why the hell couldn’t I...just...

    I wanted to forget this.

    I wanted to flood my mind with something else—anything else. Just...anything to distract me from what I didn’t want to endure.

    I swooped her in my arms and laid her on the bed. She was startled, but she shook her head when I unbuttoned her clothes and moved my hands away from her bare breasts. “Not like this...”

    “I need something to distract me. Tilde... Please—”

    “No, Master. What you’re doing is unhealthy. You’ll still feel worse than shit in the morning.”

    “Then what am I supposed to do?!” I stomped away. “I hate this feeling! I can''t handle it! I—I...” I turned to the mirror...

    They were staring at me...

    The fools I used to be.

    The ones who were dead.

    Vines erupted from my wrist, and shards of glass rained upon the dresser.

    Tris ran in front of me and hugged me. Tilde flew from behind and wrapped her arms around my stomach.

    I just wanted to shut my mind off. How could I do that when Tilde’s whimpering reminded me of my cowardliness? I let them take me to bed, and they swarmed me from both sides.

    They wouldn’t let me be alone.

    “How...much time needs to pass...” My voice was muffled in Tris’s chest.

    “There’s no way to tell. I...can’t understand for you, Master. I wish I could. There’s never an easy way out of this.”

    Tris’s furry, fluffy tail slithered between her legs and up my clothes, warming my thighs. “No one here will judge you, my lord. Speak freely. Sometimes... The mind must hear something verbally before a query can be processed."

    “I’m sorry, Tilde... I’m sorry... Please don’t hate me...”

    “I’ll never hate you. Not in a million years... I swear on it...”

    “I’m so lost. I thought I had killed the part that held any feelings for them. Kindness... It hurts. It’s tearing my heart into pieces. Why am I...feeling so...dull? The thought disgusts me after knowing the truth.”

    “Let it out, Master... Just let it out.” Tilde’s soothing voice just hurt me even more.

    “Sekh would hate me--”

    “Don’t even start down that path! Just don’t!” Tilde raised her voice.

    It didn’t have to be like that. Surtr’s wise words filled my mind. He was more than just a fragment of Sekh’s incredible mana. He knew what she would say... He knew what actions she would take...

    Hating me? That would never happen. Surtr staked his pride on it.

    Tilde said she wouldn’t.

    Tris maxed her processing and entered a two-hour cooldown, concluding with a single answer after looking at all the variables...

    Sekh. Wouldn’t. Hate. Me.

    Surtr suggested asking Ichiha and the others via the lions’ telepathic connection, but they had...other things to focus on.

    No. They’d make time for me because I was family, except what could they say that I didn’t already know?

    Surtr and Tris echoed what I needed to hear until after I had fallen asleep.

    And Sekh was there...

    Waiting for me in my dreams...

    It wasn’t pleasant... The part of me that dreaded the worst had taken root.

    I knew...Surtr’s words were truthful.

    I knew Tilde was right.

    I felt Tris’s heartfelt answer...

    But...

    My mind...was so afraid...and that fed the Sekh I feared the most...

    “Damn it...” Tilde paced the room like an expectant father worrying about his wife in the final moments of labor. Three nails on her left hand had been chewed on, and the fourth faced a similar fate. She thought long and hard about what to do.

    She knew what had just happened was possible, but the reaction was strong.

    Tris watched the fairy from the bed’s comfort. She hugged her lord from behind and never considered severing that physical connection.

    “What... Can we do that? Will it? No... That’ll make things worse... Shit...” Tilde had to rectify things before they spiraled out of control. At this point, her Master was liable to ignore her advice and make a mistake.

    “Look, it’s not like I don’t understand her,” she said, exasperated. She leaned against the couch and crossed her legs before hovering in place. “Come on, Tilde. Think... Think... Think...” The fairy closed her eyes...and it came to her. “That’s it... Hey, Tris. I have a way out of this. I need your help, okay? Can you make a script—”

    “No.” The reply was sharp. And Tilde didn’t expect it. “No,” repeated Tris. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. There are some things our lord must endure on her own. There are obstacles she must climb alone. As much as it pains me... This may be one of them. I share her feelings. At this moment in time? I wish the traitors dead. I’ve imagined pushing Quella to the brink of insanity by using my waypoints to make her think she’s suffering from delirium. It will be so easy to paint her room full of burnt corpses. Yet I know...that if we want to raise our chances of fulfilling our lord’s revenge... We must acquire Team Quella’s support. Meruria’s the end goal. She’s the target. She must die. All paths must lead to desecrating her corpse.”

    “And you think this is it? I...” Tilde rubbed her arm and looked uncomfortable.

    "I’ve thought about our problem. Our lord’s afraid that allying with Team Quella will dull her edge. That’s her biggest fear. She wishes to sharpen it with their deaths. I agree that it must be honed, but it must come from another way.”

    “That other way is why I need that script. Tris, I’ve concluded the same.”

    “Do you think our lord to be so weak that she can’t handle this?” Tris suddenly asked. She caught the fairy off guard by using her argument against her. “Our Lord has a choice to make when she wakes. If she decides to end Quella’s life, I will accept it and work tirelessly to devise her death so that it does not risk Aetos Village. Remy is an unknown, yet even she shall fall to the might our lord wields. We have trump cards, Tilde. A secret weapon not even she is aware of.”

    “You don’t mean...”

    “I do. And now that I’ve evolved? The risk is 0. I hold the bargaining chips. I grasp the reigns. I decide the terms, not it. Even a primordial spirit of ancient emotions will make a deal with the devil and agree to unagreeable demands to be spared an unyielding hell. Do not tell our lord. I never plan to use that thing if it can be helped, and her mind cannot be occupied by unnecessary worries.” Tris rubbed her lord’s soft hair and kissed her head. “I have the utmost faith in her. And I will follow whatever path she chooses. I expect you to do the same, Tilde. We can advise our lord—that is all. She must make the choices, and we must see them through. Do not forget where your loyalty lies.”

    “You still hate them that much?”

    “As of now? Yes. I do.”

    “The surgery won’t change your opinion?”

    “Why would it? Keeth is replicating a nerve mesh. It’s not a matter of if we find one. It’s when. It’s accelerating the inevitable. If nothing else, I am confident I could create one should we discover a nerve mesh''s construction method. Even still... I cannot deny a spark of happiness. Niva’s close to obtaining what was so cruelly stolen away far sooner than I anticipated. I...am filled with something strange that is not uncomfortable. The most ignorant are the most stubborn, clinging to their beliefs because new information clashes with their internal biases. What I know to be true, what I wish to be true, what I think to be true, and what I feel... I must investigate further.”

    You’re growing well. I’m so proud of you, Little Miss AI.

    “I... Okay, Tris. Okay. You win.” Tilde flew to the bed and hugged her Master from the front. Together, she and Tris supported the one they loved. “You know best, right?” The fairy smiled.

    “Believe in our lord, Tilde. Or believe in the me who believes in her.”

    “Okay, now you’re just being cocky.”

    Tris cracked a grin. “I wonder where I learned that from? It couldn’t have been from this salacious fairy.”

    “Oh, now you can make jokes?”

    “And I can also lighten the atmosphere.” The tension was gone—just like that. And Tilde felt...confident.