The Many Burdens of a Hero

 Almost everyone sat around the longship enjoying the gentle breeze as we were slowly pulled back to Broken-Blade Fort.

 Fae was kind enough to heal my broken nose through what I can only describe as one of the most painful experiences I've ever felt as she snapped cartilage back in place, to which Ota found rather amusing.

 If only that look of joy on her face could last a little bit longer before reality came crashing down.

 On one end of the ship, Arisu, Red and the prisoners talked. Amongst them, the man my Sister had captured, Lord Holgata himself, in all his fancy clothing. Whatever was going at that end of the boat, he seemed to be cooperating.

 "Wasn't he being protected in his manor..."

 "*Chuckle* Turns out usin' a bunch of virgins that consider their skin sacred don't make fer a good defense force when they're naked"

 "Wait, Tuoji, can you do that with your Relic? If it does that copy thing?"

 "Imma stop that thinkin' right there. He relies too much on borrowed power, like them Pallies. Yer body, the skills you learn, that ain't gonna betray you- *Sigh* Not that we have the time to train ya now. Let's get somethin' straight first. Ota, why'd you not get Marge to kill er'?"

 The Oni averted her eyes while giving her answer, not truly believing it herself, but her logic remained solid.

 "I didn't earn it"

 Her voice tapered off into mumbling full of regret. She wasn't sure if she would get another chance, or if letting Alameda inhabit someone's body was the right choice.

 Alameda's blessing must have affected her at the end

 Grim was the only person that stayed behind, unwilling to give anyone a reason. I figured she did it as the land itself was stained with death. Whatever she got up to was a complete mystery.

 After being forced to betray someone she shared a bond with, I could see Grim spending some time away from us regardless.

 "Uh, hey Rider, why did you leave Tyrants Rest?"

 The awkward silence was a bit too much for me to bear, so instead I tried to get an answer to a question I'd held onto for a while. As soon as I got my answer I immediately wished I never asked.

 "Oh, tax evasion. That dipshit thought I'd pay his lazy ass!"

 Rider made sure Lord Holgata heard her insult while Adelard desperately tried to hide his laugh. Her answer was a lie, through and through. She knew I'd notice, which meant to ask her in private.

 "You still owe me twenty thousand- Ow!"

 To my surprise, it seemed like she did manage to indebt herself over the years she stayed in Tyrants Rest. But still, it wasn't why she ran.

 Arisu whacked the Lord over his head with a ledger she was reading, lightened the mood a bit.

 "Is she truly the only one that remembers me?"

 "I do, but whenever I try to say your name- it just comes out as air, like nothing. We haven't really talked much though"

 I held onto hope that at least the other Horsemen could recall her, but that didn't seem to be the case. They were not immune to Blessings or whatever the memory wipe thing was.

 "Her deeds have been recorded on tungsten and gold slates within the archives if anybody wishes to re-familiarize themselves with her. For now, they will be the only source of factual history regarding her exploits, although it would be better she shows what kind of person she is herself"

 "Why is nobody freaked out that he can remember her..."

 "Touji is one fourth Elder Dragon. His transformation, that you may have missed, was only temporary. However I believe the best course of action is to announce his lineage, so the Nyx and I can confront the Crusade or any Inquisitors directly"

 "I feel like you keep that a secret"

 "Sensitive information can be used as a weapon. There are too many witnesses in this situation, so I believe the best course of action will be to control rather than suppress, and judging by the ring around this girl's finger, she has married my foster child-"

 "What does that have to do with anything...?"

 "I'd prefer to get to know her, even if I don't understand how two women can like each other"

 "Jeez, you're really old fashioned"

 "It is not a matter of tradition, young Adelard. Same sex attraction aside, Arisu means a great deal to me. Would you trust your child with a stranger?"

 "That's fine, but I'm still a little surprised you care"

 "Drop it kid, it ain't none of yer business"

 "Don't tell me your a lesbian too"

 "Odd amount of disappointment in yer voice kid, even without an answer. Why don't ya tell us how you really feel?"

 "When I first met Rider, her nickname around the bar was 'Oniho'-"

 Intense pressure, enough to sink the ship, erupted from Rider before Enda could finish her sentence. For some reason, the only people that understood what she meant was Fae and Lars, and both tried desperately to hide their laughter.

 "There are some thin's you don't bring up in front of the youngin's, like all that lingerie you make. And for each of you horny fuckers, I don't fall fer anyone so easy and there's more to people than their body, so get off my tail"

 The air felt suffocating thanks to the awkward conversation topic.

 It had become a competition of spitting out embarrassing secrets, and both had found themselves at a stalemate. I recalled Enda once dreading having to make something for Sinclair as payment at that very moment in exchange for intelligence gathering.

 "Rider- do I have to be your, like, apprentice? Title and all that?"

 That was the most roundabout way I could quickly shift the conversation again whilst only alluding to our strange partnership.

 "Believe it or not, I never had a proper 'apprentice'. People ah pick ave' all refused when they hadda make that choice. You ain't strong enough yet anyway, and I meant that stuff about relying too much on yer Relic. Try learn more magic, get 'Twinkle dick' to teach ya how he does it"

 "Oi, if you call me 'Twinkle dick' I'll start spreading rumors that you custom build leet dildo's"

 "Go fer it Twinkle dick, won't change the fact I ain't open to commissions"

 "Onih- ARGH!"

 Expectantly, Adelard was flicked overboard by Rider's tail. She'd had enough of his rude behavior, despite pushing him into the situation and her actions didn't go unnoticed.

 "V, would you like to take a dip as well?"

 "Fuuuuuck off"

 Fae stood up and scrambled to quickly cast magic and pull him up in a bubble of water. Her skill with the element wasn't as refined as Ru, but it was close enough to believe she was taking lessons and applying it to her own magic.

 Like cracking an egg, Lars fell onto the deck covered in water while all the excess was thrown back overboard.

 While he coughed and wheezed from the surprising incident, Arisu walked over and sat by Merrah, achieving whatever she sought out to do with Lord Holgata.

 "If it's any consolation, she used to call me 'Turbo tits'"

 "A perfectly fittin' name if I do say so myself"

 Despite still coughing up water, Adelard managed to laugh at the same time, and tried to slam the deck to steady himself. Arisu had successfully diffused what tension remained.

 "Hahaha *Cough* Fucking dammit *Cough* How'd- How'd you get her to stop?"

 "I earned her respect and risked my life to try save Ru's kids"

 Her kids? But...

 "Weren't they taken anyway?"

 "Yes, I failed. They were kidnapped by another Elder Dragon disguised as a human. He tried to trade them for information in Concordia, only to find he made an enemy of Warren as well, who killed an entire cartel family looking for them. From that point on they've been treading carefully"

 "And then we met him while he was heading back upriver..."

 It was all starting to make sense now, all the events occurring in the background that everyone was dealing with themselves. Arisu had fought and lost... I should be careful around them.

 "That we did, on an unrelated note, how did you transform?"

 "Uh, that was mah fault. Thought he could take some power and ended up spillin' over, sorta losin' out on both. Didn't think he had it in him you know? Being a fourth and all that, his traits were always hidden, mental shit. Now- I ain't so sure"

 "He may be able to control it in the future. Either way, he needs to figure out his heartbeat. Touji, is it automatic? As in it 'just happens'?"

 "Yeah, but it hurt last time, when I flew through the portal"

 "Your body was probably working overtime to make sure you didn't turn into paste after pulling that stunt"

 "Heartbeat?"

 "Kinda like 'Concentration', when yer in the zone everythin' feels slow Fae"

 "I heard that was an extremely rare skill"

 "It's baseline for most 'S-Rank' warriors, it isn't 'automatic' as Arisu put it. There are spells and enchants that mimic the effect by accelerating thought, however they take a toll on the user"

 "My Pa said I shouldn't use them because it'd 'make me slow'"

 "Maybe. Most theories on the long term effects of spells are pure speculation and vary from person to person, although Brewie isn't one to believe old wives tales so listening to him may be wise. I'm sure his many years of experience led him to that conclusion-"

 ...His name's 'Brewie'? No wonder she calls him 'Pa' instead, doesn't fit the old guy

 "-Everything aside, Aoife, Adelard, your rank-up tests will occur over the weekend. Ota, Touji, congratulations on reaching B-Rank, both of you will take the weekend off and rest. Afterwards, everyone except Touji will choose if they wish to aid Arisu in collecting two alchemical ingredients for an Ovum stone"

 "I will owe each of you a favor if you so choose to help in this matter"

 "Hmmm? And what does that mean? *Hack!* Dammit, still got water in my lounges..."

 "Anything you desire, I will attempt to achieve-"

 "Nope, nu-uh, she won't! Get that look out of your eye Twinkle dick! That's my wife your- *Cough*-*Cough*! God dammit, feels like I've got cancer again"

 "*Ahem* My apologies. If you need somebody found, a monster hunted, or any service of that manner, I will oblige"

 This was the first time I'd ever seen a flutter of emotion from the Nyx. For a moment in time, when Arisu called her 'wife', a tiny patch on her long tanned ears shifted to a slightly brighter red hue.

 Ota tugged my shirt and quickly whispered something in my ear while wrapping my coat that she was borrowing around her head.

 "Meet me tomorrow before lunch"

 "Sure"

 What is she planning...

 "Arisu, you should let everyone know what you did in Nala"

 "Okay, but it's a long story. So I had to invent new money and stuff after that 'Cryic' stuff turned into monster bait-"

 ***

 Most of us would fall asleep on the long journey back home as the tale of how Arisu pissed off several officials, kidnapped two assassins, rescued a former Guardsmen Captain and created a new form of money interchangeable with large sums of Marks was told.