I raised an eyebrow at Fukushi, folding my arms under my chest and landing cinematically with my toes balanced on a branch facing her. “Warn me about what?”
“Would you prefer them in order of importance?”
“Ideally, yes.”
She held my gaze, but I got the distinct impression she was using her peripherals to undress me with her eyes. That’s how it felt to have her scrutinizing me so closely.
In truth, it was probably more likely that she was trying to figure out who was behind the mask of Eileen Singer. I wonder what she’d think if she knew…
Someday, I’d find out what they all really thought of me. Not just yet, though.
“Would you prefer them in order of importance in general, or in order of importance to you, specifically?”
I blinked. “Use your best judgement?”
“Curated, then. One of your nighttime companions is upset for some reason. I’m not sure I can keep her from harming you or someone else with the state she’s in. She outright refused to speak with anyone to explain the situation. You should probably fear for your life.”
Much to my dismay, there were only two who fit the description. Somehow, Daniella just didn’t fit that emotional outburst danger level. “If you were planning on not naming any names, this guessing game would’ve been more interesting if I had more options to choose from. That’s my own fault, so I’ll be sure to expand the number of nighttime companions at the earliest convenience. In any case, how bad is Maya’s outburst?”
Fukushi blushed prettily as she took in how I looked her up and down while promising more nighttime excursions. Then she giggled like a woman half her age. “You are quite the woman, Lady Mage Heroine. In any case, Miss Sword Heroine was quite… livid. Silently so, but there was something of a dark cloud gathering over her head.”
Hm. I didn’t really have to ask. An angry yandere is never good news.
“What was the other warning about?”
“Warnings. Plural. Hm, next would be that several of the heroes have stopped attending their training.”
Ah, the NEETs. Lazy layabouts. A couple decades with full knowledge of Earth’s impending water crises didn’t get Earth’s humans to start actively working towards a solution, so why would a bunch of their laziest suddenly start actively training to prevent death by fantasy thumbtack?
My shoulders slumped as my playful mood died down slightly. “That’s less than ideal.”
Fukushi nodded her agreement. “Next, there’s been an incident with the queen’s ambassadorial entourage. During their return trip from Olandra, our eastern neighbor, the queen disappeared from their camp without a trace.”
I paused, staring blankly at Fukushi. How did that rank third? I never actually made my priorities clear, but Queen Verienne was on my list. She was certainly of import until I could assess her and decide if she remained on said list. I actually felt a minor flush of panic over her disappearance.
Not that it would bother me normally for a human to pass away, but for someone I’d given time to consider even a little? It would gnaw at me to think of the possible opportunity I’d lost. Truly, the queen had arranged for delightful women to work for her. She had to be someone of impressive caliber.
“That’s unfortunate news. Has this happened before? Abductings? Disappearances of this sort?” I prayed silently to myself for a small miracle.
Fukushi narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but shook her head. “The queen usually keeps a packed schedule. The only times she departs from her entourage is when she sleeps or travels in secret to meet her beautician. I’m not so sure anyone could abduct her, either.”
That sounded more than strange enough. The queen went to her beautician? Not the other way around? I chose to drop the subject before Fukushi noticed how much of my attention was invested in her lady liege.
“I suppose there will have to be an official inquiry. Nobles playing their games, no doubt. Anything else?”
“Well,” Fukushi began, looking sidelong at the large rock a short distance away, “some assassins are targeting your life. Though it seems you are… aware.”
Right, I chuckled internally, of course that would be the least important warning.
“Assassins? Them? The standards must be low in this world.”
She sighed, shaking her head. “Those were B classers. Handled like common thugs. I’ll have to keep an eye on which nobles suddenly disappear from society after this. No identifying… that.”
“You’d do the investigation?”
Fukushi suddenly wore lines of stress across her eyes, etched into shallow crow’s feet near her eyes. “I am also the Royal Grand Inquisitor. So yes.”
I suddenly wished humans were like trees, with rings to reflect how old they were. Fukushi was pulling off a lot of different duties. Maybe a Time Aspect would be useful after all, if only to watch the girls’ embarrassing moments growing up.
“Do you have family around anywhere?”
Her frown at the non-sequiteur was the only sign of her confusion. “Yes? My father runs a swordsmanship school to the south. That’s a very random question.”
“Oh, right. Where were we?”
I’ll have to meet her ‘chichi-ue’ someday. For the embarrassing stories. Because really, a Time Aspect for those still wouldn’t be worth the drawbacks of imposed future sight.
“We were just discussing my work as Royal Grand Inquisitor.”
I nodded sharply, dragging my mind back on task. “Does that mean you’ll be investigating Queen Verienne’s disappearance?”
“Indeed. As such, this is farewell, Eileen Singer. We shall see one another again upon my return.”
My brain shorted out. The human one. I was fine.
“You’re leaving?” Okay, I was maybe a little shocked, even on a divine level. It didn’t feel right, but I also wasn’t sure when it had come to matter so much to me.
“I’m sure you’ll be fine in my absence. You're much stronger than our spar made it seem. Though, such is the price when aiming not to kill your opponent instantly.” Fukushi managed to sound a little hurt by the revelation.
I reached out to her, brushing her cheek without even thinking about it. “I’ll… miss you.”
Her breath hitched, and she stiffened. Her eyes wide. She could tell I meant it. Maybe it was something from our duel, but we both must’ve felt some connection had been forged.
Without restraining myself as much as I probably should’ve, I pushed off the branch I was balanced on, and invaded Fukushi’s personal space, pressing her until her back hit the trunk of the tree. I firmly held her hips in place, and took in a deep inhale of her scent from the proximity.
I stared into her eyes, and her breath came hot and heavy right away. She met my gaze, and she nodded subtly at my unasked question.
That was… permission.
Her hands found my waist, and I felt her feebly pushing me away, but it was a clear performance. The mildest show of resistance, but she mouthed a yes to me anyway. She made it clear that Daniella’s implied comments were accurate.
Fukushi enjoyed it when she was taken by force.
I nodded back, and pressed in closer, pinning her to the trunk with a firm grip as my mouth met hers.
The kiss was sloppy, and the energy was frenetic. Fukushi made her small show of resistance, but it was utterly futile so long as her hand never touched her sheathed blade.
Her fingers found gaps in my clothes, and she directed her struggles to places where she could touch skin. I felt her probing as she pretended to fight back, and when she bit my lower lip, I growled in reply, lifting her feet from the wide branch and denying her any purchase.
She trembled under my grip and I drew back just enough to see the greedy hunger in her eyes.
To continue, or to leave her breathless and needy? The answer is obvious, of course.
I let her go, and she fell from the tree as her footing floundered.
Fukushi still landed on her feet, but she looked frazzled; hair in a mess, her uniform disheveled and out of place.
I floated to the ground before her and smirked. “Now you have incentive to return. I have a feeling you’ll make it back to me, no matter how hard the struggle is to do so. All so I can finish what I started doing to you.”
Her blush was cherry red. Still, she nodded, a slight twinkle in her eyes.
An abandonment kink for this one, too. How delicious. I should definitely try edging on her in the future.
“And next time, you can struggle harder. I can take it.”
She straightened, with her elbows pressed tight against her sides. A shuddering, hot breath slipped from her lips. Then she steadied herself before dashing off towards the eastern road.
The road I was supposed to be fixing, instead of sexually harassing cute, middle-aged women. If only I had a realm all to myself where time stood still, just to fulfill carnal desires and nothing else. Maybe in the spin-off novel.