Chapter 212: Chapter 212 - No Room For Arguing
PoV: ???
In a lavishly decorated hall, broken pieces of furniture are crashing and flying around as a woman keeps screaming and three girls tremble in a corner.
"This is inadmissible! Unforgivable! How dare she???"
The fact that none of the girls knew who the woman was talking about was a signal of how catastrophic the situation was. There were too many ’she’s to which that phrase could apply.
"She was just an urchin surviving in the streets. A homeless woman who starved for most of her life. So I give her the life of a princess, and what does she do? Betrays me at the first opportunity."
Oh, now they were able to narrow down who their master was talking about.
Which wouldn’t help their situation by any means, as they were powerless about the issue that was causing this specific outburst.
This being the divine temple of a deity meant that everything that was broken down could easily be fixed soon afterwards by a mere gesture of the hand.
And that’s why that room has already been utterly destroyed five times since this morning.
"M-master..."
"WHAT?"
The bravest of the three tried to say something to placate her master, but her reaction only made the girl shrink even more.
"Maybe you could... try to talk to her? Reinforce her mission?"
"DO I NEED TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF??? I am barred from messing directly with that war. The Leerkan I sent to Wesgoth was killed. The heroes I put so much effort into acquiring are useless. The dragons are advancing in the Southwest. WHY IS EVERYONE AROUND ME SO INCOMPETENT???"
The Leerkan being, obviously, the name of the mana-sucker monster that invaded Aurea’s province recently.
If Aurea was there she would have said, ’competent leaders attract competent followers, while stupid leaders will surround themselves with subservient yet incompetent followers.’ Sadly, she was not there at the moment.
"Maybe send more Leerkans to that country?"
"And risk disrupting even more the flow of energy in the System? Losing one was bad enough. I don’t have an infinite supply of those things, you know? Are you stupid or what?"
Even though Flavia was keenly aware that her big suit wasn’t exactly her intellect but her ’personality,’ she was still hurt by Juno’s words.
"Are you crying now? What the..."
"I’m sorry, Juno. I’m sorry for being so stupid and useless."
Flavia’s head was hung down, with tears raining down to the floor below. Beautiful women crying always make for heartbreaking scenes, and this one wasn’t different. Even Juno couldn’t help but be moved by it.
"No, no... please, don’t cry..."
That was enough to break her rage fit this time, but the girls knew that something would have to change in order for things to go back to normality in their lives.
:::
PoV: Renata
The bed was blissfully comfortable for someone who lived for years in the streets, in survival mode. Yet, old habits die hard, so she woke up the moment someone was inside of her bedroom.
She jumped out of the bed and immediately assumed a combat stance, only to be stunned by the sight of three otherworldly beauties dressed in weird robes.
"Hi, Renata. I’m sorry for disturbing your sleep, but we need to talk."
The one in the center of the trio started talking, and the one on the right complemented her words.
"After all, we can’t get proper sleep while we don’t have this conversation. Right, sisters?"
"Wh-who are you? How did you get in?"
"Oh, I’m sorry. Where are my manners? I am Flavia, and these two are Lívia and Claudia. We are close aides of the goddess that sent you here on your mission."
"Exactly, and she is not happy with your behavior."
"No, no. She is definitely angry. Very, very angry."
Renata’s face paled at those words. She had thought about the possibility of being watched by the goddess but decided to ignore it and do her thing anyway.
"Is that the reason you want to talk to me?"
"Oh, that’s quite smart coming from you. Congratulations."
"Right, Flavia? A person with an intellect capable of noticing that should also be able to notice what the price of betraying a goddess would be."
Livia nodded along and complemented Flavia’s words. The expressions on the faces of the three of them gave them an aura of badly contained sadism.
((They are fearsome.)) was all that Renata managed to think at that moment. She ignored the condescending tone and focused on the message being passed.
"So, you’re here to threaten me."
"Threaten you? What do you think we are, mafia mobs? No, this is not a threat. Just a little advice. You were brought to this world and given a life of luxury, which you would never have in your other life. Don’t throw it away."
"Yes. Gods are gods for a reason. It’s not wise to betray one. There are consequences that aren’t very pleasant."
"What my sisters said. Be thankful for the life you’ve been given and act properly. We’ll be watching."
With their message delivered, the three of them vanished from the room, leaving an astonished Renata behind.
((Not a threat, they say... well, it is a threat no matter how they paint it.))
Renata went back to her bed, with her mind full of the day’s happenings. The stroll through the city, the hearsay in the tavern, the visit by the goddess’ aides.
((I’m already regretting having accepted this mission. Though I’m not sure if there was the option of not accepting. I doubt there’s a chance of going back home anyway.))
With those troubled thoughts, she gradually dozed off and went back to her sleep.
:::
PoV: Aurea
"So, I gathered you three here because I have an idea and want your opinions before I submit the idea to the king."
Ingela, Yawarete, and Lovelace are the only ones with me in this room. And they all know that when I call my grandfather ’the king,’ I mean serious business.
"I want to create a research institute devoted to magic here in Altenfeld. It wouldn’t be a school like the Royal Academy, though with time it could have some sort of university attached to it. I want it to be focused on research and development of new magic and new applications of existing magic."
The three of them are showing conflicted emotions on their faces... why?
"Aurea. Don’t you already have too much on your hands?"
The one asking is Lovelace, but the other two nod approvingly of her words.
"Yes. You’ve got back from leading an army during a long war, then had to deal with all the bureaucracy of the management of your territory. You haven’t even finished that, and you want to already start something as big as a research institute!"
"I agree with both Lovelace and Ingela. The idea is wonderful, but we won’t accept it before you have proper rest."
I wasn’t expecting that... I thought that they would jump at the opportunity.
"But it would help us solve so many things... We could have a whole task force dedicated to the System conundrum. And..."
"We all agree with that. But a tired brain won’t be able to work properly. So, until you take some time off, our answer is no."
"Lovelace... You mean that if I take time off, the answer will change?"
"Yes, of course. We are just worried about your health."
Lovelace’s words brought back some fire to my soul, and Ingela quickly added.
"We finished selecting and doing the basic training of a team of trustworthy and talented people to deal with the finances. Leave all the bureaucracy in my hands, and we’ll take good care of it."
"And I’ve been coordinating with the priestesses the recovery of the affected regions. It’s been slow but steady. And Yaci is taking care of the security of the whole city. Though she is another who needs some time off."
"You’re right, Yawarete. Both Yaci and Lovelace have been working as hard as me since the war ended. I’m not the only workaholic here."
Yawarete and Ingela both turned to Lovelace.
"What do you have to say in your defense?"
"I will take time off along with Aurea. But who will command the guard in Yaci’s absence?"
"Kwarah has been around. I could ask her to put up as acting guard captain so Yaci can have some rest. She had a nice vacation time in the Barrens."
"Okay, it’s decided, then. Aurea, Lovelace, you two will stay put and rest for the next weeks. And Yaci will join you two. If we see you working in any capacity, the research institute is off the table."
Ingela has grown up so much... she doesn’t even resemble the little shy girl from our time at the Royal Academy. It’s like she became another person altogether.
The tone of her voice leaves no room for counterargument.
"Okay. You won. I will take time off. But it’s a bit hard when my home is also my workplace."
"Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ve already made arrangements about it."
Ingela never ceases to amaze me.