Chapter 36: She Woke to Something Soft and Reassuringly Warm

She woke to something soft and reassuringly warm in her arms. Angeline looked down, suspiciously, to see a white head of hair. For some reason, she was snuggling with a young girl.

“Oh, right... I only have one bed.”

As Angeline twisted to get away, Charlotte wriggled and clung to her. The sleeping girl rubbed her face into Angeline’s chest.

“Mmm...mother...”

“Hmm... I don’t have that much motherliness, you know...”

And so, Angeline lay there a while longer, her eyes scanning the room. Byaku sat on the sofa with his arms folded and his head drooping—asleep, as far as she could tell.

She made sure her sword was still propped against the bed before clinging to Charlotte again. She was really quite soft.

“She makes for a splendid hug pillow... But I need to get her into a bath.”

The grime was not doing her any favors, and she would normally (probably) smell at least a bit better. Angeline held her a while, enjoying the sensation, but once she saw that it was already light outside the window, she pinched Charlotte’s cheek.

“Mmm...what...?” Charlotte mumbled as her eyes cracked open. However, it seemed she remembered all sorts of things the moment she saw Angeline. She frantically sprung up from the bed. “G-Good morning, ma’am! Umm, it’s been so long since I slept in a proper bed, so I, er...”

“You don’t have to be so scared... I’m not going to eat you.”

“U-Urgh...”

“For now, breakfast... Hey, get up.” Angeline walked over to the sofa and lightly kicked Byaku’s leg.

“I’m already awake. What do you want?” Byaku answered without raising his head.

“You, help set the table.”

With a long, heavy sigh, Byaku stood and began taking plates off the shelf. Charlotte fidgeted while looking up at Angeline. “Umm... What should I...?”

“Wash your face. Then help me.”

Charlotte hurriedly made for the sink where she splashed water over her face. She wiped off with a towel before turning to Angeline.

“All washed up!”

“Okay, come here.”

Angeline tied Charlotte’s hair back, then instructed her to chop the leafy greens. Meanwhile, she got a pan going over the flamestone stove and tossed in bacon and eggs. The sound of sizzling and a fragrant scent filled the room. Charlotte gulped.

They warmed up the bread Angeline had left over. Breakfast consisted of a simple salad with bacon and eggs. Byaku indifferently gnawed on it with the same expressionless face as ever, but Charlotte was moved to tears.

Angeline was rather startled as she sipped her tea. “You’re making a big deal out of it... Is it really that good?”

“Yesh... I mean, a warm meal. How long has it been?”

You had that much money in your bag, and didn’t use a single coin? Angeline wondered. Her impression of the girl improved a bit. At the very least she seemed remorseful. However, she had committed deeds so vile they resulted in several deaths. Angeline did not know how much atonement was warranted, but at the very least, she would have to properly apologize to the people of Bordeaux. Then, the folks there would hand down their sentence. Of course it would be rather harsh, but that was what it meant to make things right.

“Not that we’re headed to Bordeaux just yet...”

Planning ahead was important. If they went unprepared, perhaps they would end up bringing even more trouble to Bordeaux. No, wait, couldn’t Byaku use teleportation or something?

“Hey.”

“What?”

“You’re able to teleport, right? How far can you go?”

Byaku frowned. “I used to be able to go anywhere I remembered... Not anymore. It was taken away.”

“Taken?”

“That magic was something I borrowed. They cut us off, so they took it away.”

Angeline grimaced. She had never heard anything about borrowing magic before. However, she couldn’t see any reason for Byaku to lie in this situation.

“But can’t you use three-dimensional spell sequences?”

“I learned that myself. The teleportation magic, not so much.”

“You can loan out magic?”

“That’s the sort of folks we’re dealing with,” Byaku said, sipping his floral tea.

Angeline felt profoundly let down. If only Byaku could use that spell, it would have been so much easier to go to Turnera.

“How useless...”

“Well, sorry about that.”

In any case, that meant they couldn’t go to Bordeaux just yet. They would have to observe their enemies and deal with them first. At the very least, there were more allies in Orphen than there would be on the road. It would be far safer if they went off with Maria and Yuri at the beginning of spring—and that would settle Belgrieve’s engagement as well.

“Two birds, one stone...” Angeline nodded to herself before biting off a chunk of bread.

After breakfast was over, she wondered what to do next. Usually, she would head off to the guild to check for available jobs with Anessa and Miriam. If there were any good ones, they would head off to do them, and if not, they’d take it easy—sometimes on their own, and other times the three of them would go out to have fun together.

Whatever happened, she would first need to go to the guild. If everything went well, perhaps she would be able to place Charlotte under their protection. They were up against a group attempting to revive the demons, as well as Lucrecia’s Inquisition. Angeline would have been able to deal with either of them relatively easily, but being targeted by two organizations at the same time was a bit much. Even if the guild wouldn’t help, just having Anessa and Miriam’s assistance would make things quite a bit easier.

She cleaned the dishes, changed her clothes, and strapped her sword to her hip.

Charlotte looked at her curiously. “Umm, what do you want us to do...?”

“Come with me. We’re going to the guild.”

“I don’t recommend it,” Byaku said with a scowl.

“Why?”

“We fought your guild master before.”

Angeline sighed. “You really bring a lot of baggage, you know that...?”

“Ah... Sorry,” Charlotte said with downcast eyes.

Angeline gently patted her on the head. “Well, that’s fine. Orphen’s guild has nothing on me...”

“Who are you supposed to be?” Byaku cynically asked.

Angeline laughed. “I’m an S-Rank adventurer. I’ve made quite a name for myself, unlike you... I’ll have to hear your story one of these days.”

Angeline pushed Charlotte out of the room, and Byaku listlessly followed behind.

The blue sky was cast in clouds so thin it was as if each was a faint stroke of white paint—good weather all around. Still, Charlotte seemed quite on edge while she walked beside her, as if she was expecting to be attacked again.

Angeline shook her head and grasped Charlotte’s hand. The girl looked up at her, startled.

“Don’t worry. I’m with you.”

“Okay!” Charlotte joyfully squeezed her hand in return.

This isn’t bad, Angeline thought. It was almost like she had a little sister. Little sister... That term had quite a sweet ring to it. A completely different kind of charm than a mother—not one who watches over you, but one who lets you experience the joy of pampering someone.

Angeline stared at Charlotte. “Can I call you...Char?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, of course!”

“You can call me big sis.”

Charlotte timidly turned to her. “Umm... Then, b-big sis...?”

“Very good.”

Very good indeed. Angeline felt a peculiar sense of satisfaction as she made for the guild on light feet. Despite his fed-up frown, Byaku silently tagged along.

Suddenly, Angeline turned. “How old are you?”

“What?” The boy winced.

“How old are you?”

“Fifteen, I think... What about it?”

Angeline grinned. “Then you can call me big sis too.”

Byaku gave her a sour look. “Don’t mess with me...”

“Heh heh, look at you, all bashful...”

“I ain’t bashful!” Byaku shouted, enraged.

Angeline mischievously picked up the pace, while Charlotte matched her stride with a giggle. Byaku watched them bitterly, but still took care he wasn’t left behind.

The guild was as lively as ever. Trade was booming with fall soon to come, and there were many bodyguard requests that came with that. Many adventurers would journey far and wide, coming in from one guard request only to leave again for another.

Anessa and Miriam were already at the desk, talking to Yuri. When Angeline called out to them, they turned.

“Good morning, Ange. I thought a search request would be...” Anessa cut herself off, a tinge of suspicion entering her eyes. “Who’s the kid?”

“My sister.”

“Oh... Wait, what?!”

“Does that mean...?”

“You?!”

Anessa opened and closed her mouth blankly, with Miriam giggling all the while. After collecting herself, the magician took a good look at Charlotte.

“Hmm, I get the feeling I’ve seen her somewhere before... Where was it?”

“Ah! Bordeaux!” Anessa cried after a moment.

Startled, Charlotte jumped before shrinking back.

“Don’t scare her like that...” Angeline chided with a pout.

“But if I’m remembering right, she’s the one who made a mess of Bordeaux with Count Malta. What’s she doing here...?”

“That’s exactly what I want to talk about. Yuri?”

“How can I help you?”

“Is the guild master in?”

“He most certainly is. Though he’s quite out of it, as usual.”

Yuri opened the door behind the counter and beckoned them in. Anessa and Miriam tagged along with quizzical looks on their faces.

After going through the door and a short distance down the corridor, they arrived at the guild master’s room. It had previously been something of a personal room for Lionel—there was a bed and a desk, as well as a sofa and table to welcome visitors. All of these were now buried under paperwork. The previous guild master had expanded the room far larger than it needed to be, and the room was thus often used for meetings now.

A haggard Lionel was poring over paperwork as they entered. Dortos was doing the same from a table in the corner. Cheborg—a man most definitely not suited for desk work—was doing nothing in particular from his seat on the sofa. He folded his hands behind his head, leaning his weight into the backrest. The sofa cried out in pain as the giant man pushed against it.

“Morning,” Angeline called. The three men raised their heads.

“Ga ha ha ha!” Cheborg greeted her with a hearty laugh. “Rare to see you around here, Ange!”

“Long time no see, Muscle General... You look well.”

“I’m never not well! I’m too well! Give me something to do!”

Dortos stood in a huff and prodded at Cheborg. “I don’t want to hear that from you... Did something happen, Ange?”

“Yeah. I want to discuss something...”

“This is definitely going to be trouble, isn’t it? This old man here sees some faces he definitely recognizes...” Lionel sighed, his eyes locked onto Charlotte and Byaku. It seemed Charlotte recognized Lionel and Cheborg as well; timid as she was, she apologetically lowered her head.

“We, um...caused you quite a bit of trouble...”

Suddenly, Cheborg was on his feet, giddy. “Hey, you’re that damn brat from back then! Ga ha ha ha! I won’t let my guard down this time! Come at me!”

“Eep...” Cheborg’s hulking stature and intensity caused Charlotte to hurriedly scamper behind Angeline.

Angeline tiredly shook her head. “Not today, General.”

“Huh?! What? You say something, Ange?”

“You just shut up and sit down. I don’t understand the situation, but you came here to talk, didn’t you?” Dortos asked.

“Yeah... Where are Ed and Gil?”

“I sent them off for a bit of negotiation... Heh...heh heh... They’re about to learn a bit of my stress...” Lionel said with a sickly smile. He pushed the mountainous pile of papers aside so the party could sit around the guest table. There weren’t enough chairs, so the girls crammed onto the sofa while Byaku leaned against the wall.

Lionel took one deep breath to muster his resolve before looking at Angeline. “So what’s going on?” he asked.

“They’re being targeted.”

“R-Really? What do you mean...?”

With some input from Charlotte and Byaku, Angeline explained the gist of things: of the existence of those attempting to revive and use the demons, and of the presumed plot of Lucrecia’s Inquisition.

“At the very least, I believe it will be to our detriment if we allow this child to be killed on our watch...”

“Hmm...” Dortos stroked his beard. “I have heard of the political upheaval in Lucrecia. Then it stands to reason you are Balmung’s daughter.”

Charlotte froze for a moment. “I am.” Her eyes were teary—it had been so long since she had heard her father’s name.

“In short, the curia fears the folks who could lift up little Charlotte here as a political rival. It was never made public, but the political upheaval made it clear just how many holes there were in the system, you see... And if the opposing faction gets their hands on Balmung’s daughter, they’ll have a just cause to rally around. She’s a must-have for anyone against the current establishment...”

“Ga ha ha! So they’re trying to erase her before their rivals get to her! Now that’s no fun at all!”

“They can sic the Inquisition on them as long as it’s in the name of heretic hunting.”

“Yes...and Char did actually incite the heretics, so she’s an easy target.”

“That’s not all, right?” said Anessa. “Since Lucrecia somehow knows her whereabouts, that means the people trying to use her will also be moving behind the scenes.”

Dortos nodded pensively. “But we don’t know if we can trust them. I can only imagine how they’ll use her as a puppet.”

“Is there anyone you can trust in Lucrecia...?” Angeline asked Charlotte.

The girl shook her head. Nearly everyone she knew from back then surely had been branded a heretic and dealt with accordingly. She couldn’t imagine anyone there would risk their own health and well-being to help her out.

Lionel sighed. “The inquisitors... I’ve heard rumors, but didn’t think they really existed... I just hope we don’t make an enemy of the church...”

“If it’s a secret society, I doubt they’d want to go public with it. I don’t think they’ll be able to lay down too much pressure,” Anessa said, and Lionel held his head.

“I hope so. But those in power do occasionally do wild and unpredictable things... I don’t know what those folks out to revive the demons are thinking, but they don’t seem like the sort of people who would just leave her alone. I’m beat... Are they the people who started all this cult nonsense?”

Charlotte shook her head. “I don’t really know... But they wanted to take down Vienna, saying the church was the root of all evil. Although I have not met or spoken to the person who reached out to me since...”

“Hmm... So they want to overthrow the state? Is there some noble behind this? In any case, they’re definitely up to no good.”

“Ga ha ha ha ha! But they’re quite formidable from what I hear! I’ll bet they can take a punch or two! Interesting!”

“But you know,” Miriam said, “doesn’t that mean those two factions are against one another?”

“That’s right,” said Anessa. “That is the silver lining here.”

“But we shouldn’t count on them crushing one another. At the very least, everyone apart from the folks trying to manipulate Charlotte wants her dead.”

“That’s the thing. I’m somewhat thankful we know who we’re up against, but this old man could do without another uproar over a demon if you catch my drift...”

With all the adults discussing the situation, Charlotte timidly opened her mouth. “Umm... A-Are you going to help me? But I, er, did a lot of bad things...”

“Ga ha ha ha!” Cheborg laughed. “Kids don’t need to worry about that stuff! Just sit tight!”

“But people died... I fear I’m going to get the death sentence... Otherwise, I’ll never be forgiven.”

Angeline frowned. She held Charlotte’s face in her hands, forcing it in her direction. Her black eyes stared straight at her. “Do you want to die?” she asked before releasing her cheeks.

Charlotte’s eyes widened and her head shook.

“Then don’t bring up a death sentence so lightly... Your death will not take back any of the bad things you did.”

“Ugh...”

“It’s good that you at least recognize what you’ve done. We can think of a proper apology later. Until then, it would be very troublesome if you were killed or kidnapped by anyone... Do you understand?”

“Yes...” Charlotte pursed her lips and nodded. She was under their protection now, and it seemed she had mustered the resolve to do anything in her power to atone for what she’d done.

Angeline smiled. “Don’t worry. Your big sis can handle it...”

Charlotte smiled through her tears.

In any case, the main members of Orphen’s guild had decided to protect her, which was quite a relief for Angeline. She had considered at least a few of them refusing, fearing hostility from the church. However, they were all good people who acted as if helping the girl out was the only option.

Orphen’s guild was large; there was no guarantee every adventurer would take her side. However, it was very reassuring to have the guild master and the other former S-Ranks on their side. This was enough of a fighting force that they could probably handle the matter without any outside assistance.

Once the matter was settled, Angeline, Charlotte, Byaku, Anessa, and Miriam left the guild. It would be a day off from work, and Angeline intended to buy all the necessities for her two guests.

“First, a bath. You’re both a bit dirty...”

“Ah, so that’s what that stench is. Girls like you need to keep clean,” Miriam said with a grimace before ruffling Charlotte’s hair. As a beast-man, she had a sharper sense of smell.

Anessa sighed, looking somewhat doubtful of the whole situation. “Good grief... I don’t know how we got here.”

Even so, she did not seem to harbor any antagonism towards Charlotte. She stood on the opposite side from Miriam, holding the girl’s hand and walking at her pace. Charlotte seemed happy.

Meanwhile, Byaku went on without a single word, lagging behind. Even in the previous conversation, he only chimed in to give a bit of information about the organization that had been backing him.

Angeline slowed down a bit to get beside him. “There’s plenty of things I want to hear from you.”

“Then you should have asked back there. I would’ve been forced to answer.”

Angeline scoffed. “You’re not like Charlotte. She’s a normal human, but I thought you wouldn’t want your identity getting out...”

“Hmph... I thought you were a blockhead. Color me impressed.”

“Naturally. I am the daughter of the Red Ogre Belgrieve. I did not become S-Rank purely by the strength of my sword arm.”

“Daughter, huh...” Byaku begrudgingly spat the words. “You sure had it easy.”

“On the contrary. And why are you so serious? Dad told me before, ‘You better shake off that edgy pessimism of youth. Otherwise, one day in the future, you’ll suddenly find yourself writhing on the ground in pain as you think back on what led you to that end.’”

“The hell’s up with your old man...” Byaku sighed. After a moment of silence, he finally opened his mouth. “There’s a demon living inside me. His name’s Caim...”

“Hmm.”

So it’s true, Angeline thought. She had already had a vague idea of this. When she last fought Byaku, he had transformed and the mana she sensed from him was quite close to what she remembered from her first fight against a demon.

“But it felt a bit different from the other one I fought...”

“The demons were originally homunculi created by Solomon. They’re immortal and have high mana and combat capabilities, but the loss of their master has filled them with madness.”

“I heard about that before... So why is one of those homunculi inside of you?”

“There was an experiment to see if a homunculus could be born as a human child.”

“What do you mean?”

“They never told me the specifics... But they were apparently trying to pass down those powerful abilities while doing away with all the memories and madness... I was one of those experiments. Unfortunately, the bloody thing’s will is still inside of me, so I’m apparently a failure.”

“Wow... Crazy stuff.”

“Shut up. Not like it doesn’t concern you.” Byaku glared at Angeline. “You’re probably one of them too.”

“What?” Angeline blinked. She burst into a grin. “You think I’m a demon? Ha ha ha!”

“Have you never questioned your own strength?”

Angeline proudly stuck out her chest. “You can thank my dad for that.”

“This again... Think about it seriously. Your potential clearly comes from a homunculus.”

“Then why did my dad pick me up in Turnera?”

“How should I know?”

“Going off your story, you were in the capital. That means the experiments were conducted in the capital. Turnera is quite a long way from there, you know. I was practically a newborn when I was picked up—it just doesn’t add up. In the first place, why would I be thrown away, then?”

Byaku gave a resigned sigh. “Fine, think whatever you want... Anyways, I don’t get any of the homunculus’s memories while I’m in control. So I can’t tell you any more than that.”

“I see... Just forget about it. I now know it has nothing to do with me.”

“Tsk.”

Seeing Byaku irritably click his tongue, Angeline chuckled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“I get it. You’re lonely too. Don’t worry, big sis is here for you.”

“What about you is ‘big sister’ material...?”

“Don’t be like that. Heh heh, I’ll take you back to Turnera one of these days.”

“You’re a real pain, you know that?”

That was around the time the others reached the bathhouse and called out to the stragglers. The two of them picked up their pace.