I came in for a landing in the same training courtyard as before, though it was finally mostly empty. Flying slowly was safest for the liberated trio, and it just barely gave Daniella enough time to arrive in the courtyard, though she was skulking around instead of brazenly striding through the castle. She was joined by Fukushi, Riko, and Hanada.
The moment we touched down, the trio sagged to the ground in a heap, exhausted by the stress of what they’d been through and the tension flying had placed on their bodies. Hanada immediately deflated upon realizing her friends were still absent, and I cast her an apologetic look.
She caught the look and set her shoulders squarely. “Going to find someone to help them.” Then, she turned to leave. I got the impression she didn’t want to make things awkward by sticking around. I felt a tightness in my chest when I realized she viewed the world that way.
“They should be fine, just worn out.” It wasn’t what I wanted to say, but it was hard to get the right words out around the mess my head had become.
“Andreas?” Daniella asked as soon as Hanada departed.
I nodded. “He was trying to sell them off as slaves to another noble. I couldn’t leave them there. They were also discussing the sale of heroes into noble houses.”
“I suppose that much should’ve been obvious.”
Riko seemed distraught at the concept, having not connected things the way I did. “What do you mean by that?”
I sighed, somewhat defeated by the way the day had ended. “Daniella and Fukushi are both unreasonably strong, right?” I waited for the hesitant nod in reply, then continued. “They are both descendants of previous heroes. It’s a cultural normality for this world that heroes have families, and their children provide a strong elite that lasts for generations after their passage. Which implies…”
“That heroes do not get sent home when their task is done.” I nodded silently when Riko finished my sentence.
Fukushi’s face was set in a dark, bitter grimace as she looked across the exhausted people. “You helped them escape from him, but what of his retribution? And his supposed evidence to the guards about High Mage Archaelyn’s treason?”
I paused for a long moment, clearly long enough for the others to see my expression fall. “I handled him. He’s… not going to be an issue, apparently.”
Fukushi gave me a slightly concerned look. “You sound uncertain. Did you not simply kill him?”
Riko seemed very concerned by that premise, and shot the shorter swordswoman a terrified look.
“What spell?” Daniella inquired with some intensity.
“A curse.”
There was a sharp intake of breath as she reeled. “You are also capable of the magic of hatred? No Mage Hero has ever been able to cast those kinds of spells before.”
That made sense. Something by that name wasn’t particularly heroic.
I had some preparation for the question, given how touchy a subject it would be. “There was a demon queen in the past. She used such magic on all her foes. I have firsthand experience with it. The spell I used needs some explaining. It has restrictions that should go some way towards setting your minds at ease.”
Riko had turned her look of confused fear back towards me, and it nearly broke me. Fukushi seemed more open-minded, which I had to wonder about. When I looked at her, she instantly explained herself, thankfully. “I know you, Eileen Singer. You are not a bad person. I trust that your explanation will lay all to rest.”
Her words, interestingly, seemed to calm the others in turn. I gave her a grateful look for her trust. Hanada silently made her return at that time, followed by an older woman dressed in a proper tailcoat. A female butler, how progressive.
“I chose this spell because of the chance a person could recover. In the event my judgement of him was incorrect, he would be able to shrug off the effects in a short time. He didn’t. The spell requires a bit of knowledge on the target. You need to know their weakness. What vice they are inclined to. For Andreas, it was his greed. I faced him with an unending loop of immeasurable wealth. For so long as he desires more riches, the illusion will entrap him. He won’t eat or sleep, merely daydreaming of an unattainable hoard. Until he passes away from exhaustion.”
Riko didn’t seem like she enjoyed the revelation, but Daniella breathed a sigh of relief. “An unusual application of an unusual school of magic, but it is not a true curse. Please, do not scare me with such things in the future.”
Fukushi just nodded proudly. “I had a feeling your action would prove more taxing upon your own conscience than it would’ve been with the average person’s morality. It is justifiable irony as a punishment, and I approve. Had I been the one in your shoes, I would have demanded a duel, then claimed his head.”
I winced. Murdering the man, even if he was a complete monster, was a surefire way to get Riko to—
“Seriously? Just like that, you’d casually kill a man?” Riko objected, as predicted.
I put a finger to the girl’s lips, then gave her an imploring look. “It’s been a very long day. Can we just leave the moral debate for a later time? I just did something I don’t really feel too great about, and I need time to think.”
Apparently, I should’ve specified that I wanted alone time, because everyone present decided to follow me after a brief exchange of glances, leaving the butler to tend to the new guests. Really running out of beds at record time, thanks to me.
I’d gotten into a lot of trouble for such a late start to the day, and the first destination ended up being… the queen’s private residential wing. The bath that had been made there was quiet and luxurious, allowing for a very indulgent group soak.
I would’ve normally been overjoyed to be surrounded by them all, but my emotions were all over the place. Daniella still decided her place was at my side, and gleefully made her feelings known by holding my hand in her lap.
“Seeing you two like this is… still a bit of a thorn to my heart.” Fukushi admitted after a few moments.
Riko actually had a small smile on her face, though. “I don’t actually mind seeing love bloom between women. I think it’s fast, but it’s best not to judge. The love between women is to be cherished in all forms.”
The odd problem in the bath, however… was Hanada. She had her head turned down, bangs covering her whole face, and she had elected to sit beside me, but couldn’t seem to bring herself to actually sit any closer, even though she clearly wanted to.
“Eileen here isn’t the sort to limit herself to just one woman. All are welcome to join us.” Daniella said something that had my whole body tense, completely killing the relaxing feel of the hot water.
“I feel compelled to elaborate on that very misleading comment! I just… heat of the moment… happened to imply to Daniella that, well…” I gave up midway, not finding a rational exit.
Fukushi appraised every member of the group, then decided to throw my favorite trick: a verbal hand grenade to solve a social problem. “Lady Heroine is politely interested, but not quite fully invested. Miss Sword Heroine is clearly failing to hide her infatuation, and seems quite jealous of the closeness between High Mage Archaelyn and the Lady Mage Heroine. You are developing an impressive collection, Eileen Singer, despite your abortive attempts to deny the claim made against you.”
Hanada bolted out of the water, standing upright and splashing everyone with a cry of, “AM NOT!” Then she lost her nerve, hands vanishing into her bangs as she sank back down into the water.
“And what about you, Fukushi?” Daniella asked pointedly, sidestepping the outburst.
“Mm. The Lady Mage Heroine is forthright, powerful, and open-minded. She handles her own problems and resolves conflicts in a manner that I personally agree with. She would be a most compatible individual for me. Do not think I will go along easily, however. My partner must earn every moment of my time.”
I stared at her. Her personality had become… very different once she stopped being angry at me. Every word was laced with a deep respect. I wanted to taint that respect until it turned black from desire.
I covered my face, realizing the blush that had risen to it.
“Well?” Daniella prodded, her hair limb gently pulling the obstruction from my face. “Will you win the lady knight into your embrace?”
I gulped. I just wanted to resolve the thousand things going through my head at once, but instead I was being distracted. And then it hit me. Daniella was trying to distract me from my thoughts. She must’ve sensed that I would’ve wandered off alone and been miserable while insisting I didn’t feel depressed.
“Daniella.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Did you secretly communicate with the others so they’d follow me and try to keep me busy?”
“Busted~” Riko sing-songed with humor.
I heaved a sigh. “Fine, I’ll play along. Sure, Fukushi. Why not? I can’t promise I’ll be able to offer you all of the attention you deserve, but I promise to try.”
The swordswoman waved it off, though. “That talk between me and Daniella earlier… I appreciated it. While I felt upset at the time, our duel helped me make up my mind about a suggestion she made. One in which my feelings for the high mage need not be laid to rest.”
The high mage followed the statement with her own explanation. “Truth be told, I did feel bad about ending things with her. Fukushi is very dear to me, regardless of the ulterior motives I had.” Daniella flashed an apologetic look to the shorter woman, and received a small smile in return.
“And then there were two.” Riko commented idly. “We’ve had our talk, Lilin. You know how I feel about romance.”
I nodded, mentally moving up my intentions to take the woman on a nice shopping date.
All eyes then turned to the last person in the group, who slouched lower into the bath, which didn’t save her much, given her height in the shallow water. She was even taller than me, after all.
“Interesting.” Fukushi hummed, standing up and moving towards our end of the bath. Instead of approaching Hanada, though… she moved to sit beside me, opposite Daniella. The motion was aborted, however, as Fukushi fell backwards into the bath with a splash. At the same time, Hanada was sitting immediately glued to my side, grappling my right arm and pressing it between the peaks of her small chest.
I tried to slow down and replay the moment in my mind. A burst of motion from the changing room had begun the exchange, and a sword had come flying out of its sheath, aimed for Fukushi’s neck. At the same time, Fukushi had dodged, backpedaling gracefully. The sword had chased her until she was all the way back into the water, while Hanada had slid in to occupy my right side possessively. In the blink of an eye, the sword had vanished back into the changing room, sheathed again.
“I liked her first!” Hanada bit out. I couldn’t decide if I was impressed by how she’d mastered her abilities so fast, or if I was scared of what she was planning to do to my budding harem.
“Hanada-san.” I forced my voice out evenly in a warning tone. “If that was how you felt, you should have said something before. Now, it is too late to be upset at others for taking the initiative before you. I do not dislike you, but understand that harming those I care about will cause me to.”
She visibly deflated as I parroted Riko’s logical argument from earlier that day, but I couldn’t see her expression through her bangs.
That’s one yandere for the harem, then.