For the evil trio buddy (body) poll, Menace won with 32v-42%, followed by an almost tie between Airi and Melona, 23v-30% and 21v-27% respectively.
Yaaaaay, my waifu won this time!! :3 Last time we did this poll, it was Airi who won with 53v-41%, followed by an almost tie of Menace and Melona with 39v-30% and 36v-28%.
Now, a poll graciously suggested by our buddy The Spooky Scary Overlord, let's ask about Risty's obvious inspiration as a chivalrous thief~
And as we start the second chapter of the Unicorn story, Fio starts spilling the beans...? Also, fancy a song? :3
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: How Far Do The Lies Go, And Where Does The Truth Begin?
After finishing her fights at the arena, Tomoe liked to eat dinner by herself. She’d often get invited by merchants or whatever other influential people from the land happened to be in the area, but she found she’d much rather stroll the city on her own and carefree than have to deal with that. The place she’d chosen for dinner tonight? Logan’s Inn, located on the port side of downtown Sheldan. Its specialty, the crab.
A rather crude dish, which involved boiling freshly caught crab from the harbor noisily within a large pot.
“I’ve heard of ‘eating crabs in silence,’ but if you ask me, talking while eating anything is rude enough in general.”
Talking to no one in particular, the priestess reached out for the crab on the table. Apparently, out of consideration to her, the shopkeeper had given her an extra large serving.
[It’s only common courtesy that I eat this all, but, I’m afraid of how much weight I’ll gain by eating this much…]
“No choice but to just eat what I can.”
Making up her mind, Tomoe gave her thanks for the food and started on her meal, never once thinking she’d meet someone familiar to her soon enough.
***
“Now, where were we…”
Fio began musing slowly, almost as if on purpose, the moment the two reached the ground floor bar at Logan’s Inn.
“Never you mind that. Just go on and tell me anything you feel comfortable sharing.”
Leina directed the girl to the seats the shopkeeper had prepared for them.
“Whoa, what a feast.”
Seeing the lavish meal spread out for them on the table was enough to make the child’s mouth water. Just heaps and heaps of boiled crab, Sheldan’s famed staple dish.
“Go ahead and help yourself.”
The warrior sat down, taking a quick look at a corner of the room where dozens of people had gathered. For his part, Logan paid no heed to the pair, opting instead to get lost within the crowd.
“What are they up to?”
The girl seemed to take an interest in the gathering.
“Watching a feed from the preliminaries if I had to guess.”
“The Queen’s Blade… you’re also fighting in that, aren’t you Leina?”
“Yeah… though, that’s enough about me. Back to you.”
The warrior’s prompting made the girl flash a mildly sour look for a moment.
“Just start from wherever is easiest.”
Leina reiterated.
[And the more concise, the better.]
A few moments went by, Fio seemingly needing them to silently gather her thoughts, before she finally began talking.
“Do you know of the Great Duchy of Gleed?”
“Never heard of it. Where is it?”
The blonde asked Fio curtly.
“It’s a small country way up north. I’m the bastard child of the ruling family there.”
The girl began to narrate the tale of her origins.
Already skeptical, the blonde merely listened as she poked at her crab.
The Great Duchy of Gleed? There was no such thing. Perhaps to your ordinary citizen, having little knowledge of the countries surrounding the one you lived in might be the norm… but Leina was the successor of the Earl of Vance, a man who’d often boast to her that both his land’s military strength and influence were second to none on the Continent. She knew every country on the Continent, down to the relations they had which one another, by heart. It was information that had been drilled into her ever since she was a child in preparation for her future responsibilities as a ruler after all.
The minute the silver-haired kid had brought up some fantastical country’s name, Leina already began to doubt her tale.
“My mother was a beautiful woman, something the nearby feudal Lord took notice of. And so, he enlisted her as his consort.”
The girl continued on passionately, like a storyteller would do.
“And eventually, my mother conceived me, but… that would only be the beginning of her tragic tale, as my pregnant mother was then ousted from the country due to the machinations of the lord’s legal wife, who’d so far been unable to produce him an heir.”
“A pretty common tale, but still sad to hear.”
“Exiled and left out in the cold, my mother was penniless. So she used musical instruments she’d learned to play in the court to join a troupe of itinerant entertainers. And thanks to the protection of that party’s chief-- whose creed was: ‘Sell your talents, not your body’-- my mother was able to safely give birth to me.”
“She was picked up by a good person.”
The girl’s story fit the usual pattern. The ‘golden pattern’ troubadours liked to use when they told stories; man is down on his luck, man meets a good person by chance, man then becomes unfortunate once again somehow, etc. While Leina had only heard the start of it, the more she listened, the more she couldn’t help but think she shouldn’t trust a word of what Fio had to say on the matter.
“However, my mother’s condition suddenly took a turn for the worse as she still recovered from childbirth and soon enough, she passed away. From what I hear, it happened long before I even had any awareness of my surroundings, back when I still needed to be breastfed. It was this way, that I was born into the trade of the travelling performer.”
Musical instruments suddenly began playing out from nowhere, matching the girl’s tone.
[Is that man with the instrument a troubadour or something? Where the hell did he pop up from!?]
“I’m especially good at singing and dancing. Shall I perform a song for you?”
Fio quickly got up and began to sing.
“Do you have a dream?
That’s an important treasure.
Something you’ll want to cherish.
Where could you have dropped it?
Why did you lose your dream?
No it’s not lost.
You just lost sight of it.”
And without missing a beat, the troubadour ad-libbed music for the song.
Clapping began to be heard from all around the store, matching its tune.
“Huh?”
Their attention caught by the singing, the guests had apparently stopped whatever they were doing to listen to Fio’s performance.
But that wasn’t all.
Another beautiful melody rang out from where the Sword of the Unicorn lay on the table… or at least, that’s how it sounded to the warrior.
“Is that sword… also singing?”
Oblivious to Leina’s shock, Fio continued singing her song as naturally as breathing came to her.
“The dream is waiting for you,
It’s waiting by your side.
Listen carefully, and you should hear it.
A dream’s heartbeat, a dream’s sigh.
Open your eyes and reach out for it.
Hug your dream tight.
And never, lose it again.”
[I see… Well that part was definitely for real anyway.]
Fio’s singing voice was spectacular, enough to even make a member of the Earl’s house like Leina, who was well-versed in all types of songs and music since childbirth, admit to her talents.
The customers flocked in closer, surrounding the pair.
“Amazing, kiddo!”
“Please sing us another one.”
The end of the girl’s song brought forth both cheering and adoration from the crowd, along with some silver coins in appreciation.
“Thank you, thank you very much.”
Fio was all smiles, even as she picked up the coins from the floor.
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