In any case, we continue with Amara's story, what's Nowa's and Fio's plan...?
Enjoy!
Nowa complied with Fio's demand.
However, while she didn't jump, she didn't bother to hide either.
He was planning on moving in stealthily, but she dashed his hopes instantly--she boldly descended from the walls and went right to a plaza filled with people! Not even thinking of hiding, she walked along the torch-lit streets.
"Uh-oh..."
Reluctantly, he chased after her.
"I really wish Miss Tomoe was here..."
His complaint came from the heart.
Tomoe was a beauty with black hair, head of the Warrior Priestesses--experts in apparition extermination. She had come from Hinomoto, an island country floating to the east of the continent, to participate in The Queen's Blade, and had helped him when they met in the free city of Sheldan by chance.
If only she had been there--she probably would have been able to purify the Nubias with ease, since they seemed to be an amalgamation of curses.
If she used her talismans well, she may even have been able to defeat Devil Setra.
[What about Airi?]
Airi was a maid who called herself the Infernal Temptress--and as her name implied, she was not of this world, rather being a wraith summoned from the Netherworld.
When they faced Devil Setra and the Nubias, he felt like they resembled Airi--perhaps due to the way the latter used spirit orbs and lesser spirits. If it was a battle between peers, at the very least it would have been a closer fight than Leina had put up.
Still, he couldn't rely on people that weren't here. Right now, Nowa was his only ally.
[I don't know how strong she is, but she's got to be more reliable than my unarmed self.]
He mulled over this as he chased after her.
Soon, the two arrived at the crowded plaza. The people near the fountain, wearing loose black coats, were throwing a small party--gathering dishes for the crowd.
“Huh?”
“Who are these two?”
“Girls are rare here.”
As soon as they were spotted, the crowd began to murmur.
“Everyone! We came to save you!”
Nowa stood on the edge of the fountain and cried out to them.
“...Save us?”
The crowd had blank looks on their faces.
“What’s wrong? I thought you had all been kidnapped?”
“No... well, I guess this *isn’t* too different from being kidnapped, in fact.”
One of them stepped up towards the half-elf. He was holding a cup full of delicious fruit juice.
“Well, drink and listen to our story, young ladies.”
“ ‘Young ladies’...?”
“Yup. We’ll hear you out... but, don't you want to escape?”
The girl asked, grabbing the cup.
“It’s just... we don’t need to.”
“You don’t need to?”
“Yeah, life here is comfortable. There's plenty of water, no need to do hard labor, we don’t even need to do farm work.”
“Eh?”
[In other words, you don’t need to do actual work... so how do they let you eat in this oasis?]
Fio’s words got stuck in his throat.
[And in that case, why did Devil Setra kidnap them?]
“The Nubias do the hard work. We only need to fulfill our duty according to Lady Menace’s instructions.”
“And what kind of duties are those?”
“The massager, Sitaara, and the cooks work at Menace’s temple. As for us...”
The men looked at each other, an embarrassed look on their faces now.
“At morning, and at evening--twice a day--, we just say ‘Long live Lady Menace’ in front of the temple.”
“Wha...”
Fio could feel his soul ejecting from his body.
[They’ve kidnapped so many people from so many towns in the dead of night, JUST for THAT? This is stupid. Way past stupid.]
“Aren't any of you worried about your families?”
While the revelation left Fio dumbstruck and lifeless, Nowa kept questioning the inhabitants.
“We do, actually...”
“Then, let’s take you home! ‘If you don’t work, you become lazy‘, Captain said so too.”
‘If you don’t work, you don’t eat’. That was one of the basic principles of the world. However, that didn’t seem to apply there. Even without working, they were given food, clothing and shelter.
“But... how will we go back?”
The man asked in turn. Even the strongest people could not expect to cross the vast desert.
Not to mention the quicksand surrounding the Khan Oasis. One could only break through by flying through the sky or using a huge scorpion like Nowa and Fio had.
“If there’s no way back, shouldn’t we enjoy our life here?”
“Hmm.”
She turned to look at Fio, concern mixed in her eyes. She had assumed the people would be all too willing to escape the minute someone showed up to rescue them.
“Well, the old men have a point.”
Fio stepped forwards as Nowa was left unsure how to reply.
“This is some kind of utopia, one wouldn’t want to leave here.”
“Y-Yeah...”
They were slightly confused at his words.
“Lady Menace, the ruler of this oasis, is friendly, they can live with others helping each other... I think it’s a good deal...”
“W-Well, yeah.”
“But, don’t you want to see your wife and children?”
“We do want to see them, but...”
A lonely shade appeared on the men’s expressions, something Fio didn’t miss.
“In that case, why don’t we try asking Lady Menace?”
Fio was quick on his wits; Leina was probably trying to get close to Menace herself, so if they got the residents to lead them to their leader, maybe they’d be able to reunite.
“I-It might be worth a try... by the way, just who are you two?”
“We came to help...”
Fio hurried to cover the girl’s mouth. Even though they HAD come to help, saying so was pointless if they didn't have a plan.
“Ehehe... we’re traveling performers summoned by Lady Menace.”
Showing his best angelic smile, he proceeded to introduce the two of them to the others:
“We’re the Silver Singer Fio and the Fairy Dancer Nowa. It’s very nice to meet you.”
The boy smiled as he delivered his bombastic introduction, while his companion was frozen stiff:
“F... Fio. Nowa isn’t a dancer.”
“It’s alright, leave this to me.”
The singer whispered back to reassure her.
“You just focus on dancing to the song. If anything, you could make it a martial arts performance with your weapon.”
“I-I guess I could do that.”
“Okay, let’s roll with that.”
The silver-haired boy was carrying out a strategy he had come up with on the spot: he'd sing to gather the residents and lure out Menace. The moment she came out, he’d have Nowa challenge her to a preliminary battle, and--hopefully--she’d win. Neither Devil Setra nor Nubia could interfere if it was an actual preliminary.
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