by Envy Mercury
Mew smiled at me and crossed her arms as she looked up at me. “Well,” Mew laughed, “I did make it myself, so of course it is terrific,” she boasted. “Naturally, you would enjoy it and think it is the best drink ever.”
“It is delicious,” I asserted. I could tell it was a pretty strong drink, so I took smaller sips to slow down. I didn’t really want to get plastered in front of everyone. I looked down at Mew, and she was fidgeting a bit. She said something and stammered a little, and I couldn’t quite understand her. I asked her what she said.
“You know, if you think that is good, I could train you a bit!” she blurted out.
“To make beer?”
“Nooooo!”
“Train me to look as cute as you?” Apparently, I was getting buzzed, causing me to toss out comments like that.
“NOOO!” She blushed. “To FIGHT, ya yarner!” She blustered and turned redder. “Cute? What do you mean, cute!? Are you making fun of me?” Mew stood trembling, looking up at me. She looked pissed, but her eyes said something else, some other hidden emotions.
“I would never- make…”
“Right, I will just get back to making everyone drinks. It’s the only thing I’m good for, apparently.”
I looked over at Yumi while listening to Mew slam items and aggressively work the bar. Yumi leaned into me and whispered, “She is an excellent fighter. She excels in hand-to-hand combat. She gets a little touchy over her small size sometimes.” Yumi took another big drink of her beer, looking at me over the top rim.
“I think I’ll have to tell her I’m sorry later when she’s not destroying the bar,” I said.
Yumi swallowed her drink, “That would probably be a good idea, especially the waiting part. I wouldn’t want you to risk your welfare talking to a pissed off Simiate.”
I looked back over to Mew as she filled more drinks. Her shoulders were slumped, her head low. While doing a task, it turned her towards me, and she looked away, not looking me in my eyes. I didn’t mean to hurt this girl, even if I didn’t intend to. Even if it wasn’t necessarily my fault, I would have to make it up to her in some fashion.
“Yumi?” I asked, “Do you know where Mecci went off to? I haven’t seen her at all this morning.”
“She went to go take a peek at my manor.”
“She- she won’t get hurt, will she?”
“No, no, no. Mecci is just taking a look to help make some plans to recapture it.”
“That’s good,” I murmured. I was a bit worried about her going to that place without some extra people. Thinking about it, more people would make her stand out more. I knew Mecci was very capable, but I still didn’t like the idea of her going off somewhere on her own. Even though I wasn’t the most formidable person making enemies quake in their boots, I just felt responsible for her. I mean, I guess I made her right? Then after last night, when we were together… I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.
“She will be fine. It’s just a little sneaking and spying. Nothing too dangerous. Not like storming a castle or going inside. She just wanted to get a look at what we could be dealing with.”
“When do you think we are going to strike?” I rubbed my neck.
Yumi’s expression took on a serious tone. Her brow furrowed, “Maybe a few days, or sooner. We need to plan, and then we will take back what is mine.”
“Everyone thinks that I am capable? I mean, isn’t it a bit too early to…”
“We will be fine. Even with little training from me, you are skilled with the sword, then I think Mecci was going to work with you on your mana more when she returns.” She stepped closer to me and touched my nose, “Don’t you worry, let me worry. It is my duty to carry the worry as leader of this guild, you know.”
She took another drink. “My manor would be an upgrade over this. Even before the attack, this place wasn’t super fancy. I am tired of these people living in ruin. There are better places for these people to live in my territory. There are homes around my manor. This was something that was going to happen soon anyway. Now I just have the benefit of your extra assistance.”
“Ok, Yumi,” I replied. I still felt nervous over the situation, but I suppose it would be my first real conflict. All these people here were used to this kind of conflict, and it made me miss the memories that I had no idea about. I am sure with what I did before, those memories would be more valuable, besides just me remembering. It would give me the attitude I had before. All that insight I had built up over two years was priceless. I wish I had it. I really need to find this princess.
“Which speaking of training, we really need to get you a sword,” Yumi said, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, I probably need to buy one, I suppose. Make one, whatever I need to do.”
“Rezner, you don’t need to do that. I have an armory here with many weapons.”
“Good, then I don’t have to go looking around in stores, getting lost in town, and deal with the haggling.”
“I won’t sell you one, silly. I will give you one.” She put her glass on what was left of the counter of the bar. “Thank you, Mew, delicious as always.”
Mew looked up from the glass she was cleaning, “Oh- you are very welcome, Lady Yumi. I am always happy to hear one of your compliments.” Mew started to come over to get the glass, but then after giving me a brief glance, hesitated. She went back to cleaning the mug she seemed to have been focused on for a while.
I followed Yumi up the stairs, but we went a different way than the route we took to her office. The decorations changed throughout our walk down the hallway. It seemed a bit more refined. Maybe the description classy would fit. “I’m surprised you have the armory upstairs. I would think that there would be better access below. This is a lot of stairs to climb if your people need to get things quick,” I stated as I studied our surroundings. There was carpet up here, some stylish trim. The hallway kind of had that Victorian feel to it. There was some art on the walls, it didn’t really seem to fit the theme, but there was art. Yumi took note of what I said and noticed that I was inspecting everything.
“The armory isn’t up here. This is where my private quarters are. Warren attempted to make me feel more at home- thus the art and decorations,” she paused. “Ah, here we are,” she said as she turned down a short entryway that led to a larger door that had some ornate trim, some fine woodwork. Yumi took a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door after fiddling with it for a few seconds. She pushed the door open and beckoned me to enter. Passing her as she held the door open for me, I got to see my first glimpses of her room- Yumi’s personal space. “I don’t really let many up here, it's kind of my private place. It is also a little- more personal, you could say.”
“It is nice,” I replied as I stepped inside so she could close the door behind us. I heard a click as she locked the door. It had a mixture of what I would say was princess mashes up with oriental. It was well kept and organized. The room was refined, but I could tell it was put together with items used to make due. There were oriental-themed pieces, like statues, scrolls, lighting. The bed was beautiful. It was a canopy bed with pretty laces and fluffy blankets and pillows. I saw that she even had stuffed animals, which made me do a double-take. They had plushies in this world, and she of all the people I could imagine not having such things, she did. “It’s kind of cute in here too.”
She saw me looking at the stuffed animals. She cleared her throat with a light nervous cough, “Like I said, Warren tried to make it comfortable for me, as much as possible. I didn’t design it much.”
I turned and gave her a soft smile, “It’s nice Yumi, thanks for letting me see it. Maybe soon, you will have what you are more accustomed to when you get the manor back. Warren does a lot for you, to think, I figured him a crazy old man when I met him.”
“Yes,” she laughed. “He can seem that part, especially now that he is getting up in his later years.”
“What is his story, anyway?”
“He was
a servant at the royal palace.”
She sat down on her bed and patted her hand on the spot by her. Beckoning me to take a seat. I went over and sat down, feeling a bit uncomfortable from this situation I was in. I was sitting on Lady Yumi’s bed, in her room alone with her. I wondered how many had even been allowed to sit on her bed.
She looked at me after a moment of consideration, “Warren would have the most detail, but in basics, he was the Princess’s personal attendant. An advisor and assistant of sorts.”
“Princess Valentine’s?”
“Yes.”
“How did he end up here if he was at the palace? I don’t mean disrespect, but that seems a bit of a jump and change.”
Yumi laughed, “Yes, it is a little. Princess Valentine doesn’t always stay in line with the crown and would be considered the black sheep in that family. From what I understand, she is a charming girl, but it is well known that she doesn’t agree with some of the policies that mistreat people. She seems to be a good person. If you gave her your power, maybe that was enough reason.”
“Well, if she has what I need, that makes me feel better. I was expected some trouble with that. Dealing with some bitchy royalty would suck.”
“You know when you kidnapped her, I heard you did so to get some changes done or some money. There are many discrepancies about why you did that. Very bold of you to do that, by the way.”
“I don’t honestly know much about it myself, so I know less than anyone here,” I said as I leaned back on the bed.
“What I do know as fact, however, they did not attempt one thing to have her released from you. They didn’t even try. They left her there,” Yumi stated.
“Maybe that’s why I let her go,” I speculated.
“Either way, she went back to them, but that doesn’t mean she had it easy. They had concerns about her returning for no reason. She more or less resembles a prisoner these days, always watched. Warren, of course, fought against it. He was let go from her service.”
“I’m surprised that if they didn’t care, that they didn’t just get rid of her,” I said.
“Politics. Can’t just kill the princess. They look bad enough sometimes. No, it is indeed safer that they keep her locked away, keeping her from causing them trouble as much as possible. On her own, she isn’t much of a threat to their agenda.”
“Sounds like a pain,” I said while she looked at me inquisitively. “I mean, it will be hard to get to her,” I explained further.
“Well, you kidnapped her once. You can do it again, maybe this time even be her rescuer. She could even come willingly. Never know.” Yumi smiled at me. “Anyways, we should do what we came to do and get you a sword.” She stood up, and I followed.
We went to a closet looking area, and she opened it. There were three swords in it. They were set up like they were on display, like how I had seen collectibles presented in my world. The difference was these had a look of perfection, well made and real. The top spot was empty. It must have been where she could store the sword she was using.
She touched her bottom lip while she pondered them. She reached in and pulled the second sword down, and turned to hold it out to me. “This one here is a mana sword,” she explained. “You can use magic with it to make it cut better or defend against mana.”
“So, like it can be on fire and deflect spells?” I asked.
She laughed. At least I was good for that with her so far. “No, it just enhances with mana. Then it can only defend against another mana enhanced sword. It is not a magic sword; it is a mana sword.”
“Oh, well, thank you,” I said, taking it into my hands. It had a beautiful black handle and sheath. I slightly pulled it from the sheath to examine the blade. The blade was dark and very sharp looking. It was amazing. I told her as much.
She stepped towards me, holding out her hands. I handed the sword back to her. She turned it vertical and got very close to me like she was going to hug me. Her breasts pressed against me, and I had to fight to keep my eyes on her face. I knew how much she would be exploding out of her yukata top. “I think… with you, let’s put this on your left side,” she said coyly as she smiled up at me.
“Don’t people wear them on their backs?” I spoke, slightly strained with concentration as I fought to keep my eyes up.
“I suppose some do, but that is more for a heavy sword and traveling a long distance.”
“Oh?”
After adjusting the sword that she belted on me, she reached a hand up, laid it flat on my chest, and got even closer. “If it is too big, it's too hard to pull out. If things are happening fast, you don’t want to be in that situation, do you? Those types normally are long swords, and they are unsheathed and ready to use before a conflict.”
“Yeah, definitely need to be able to pull out- er, I mean, pull it out.” I wasn’t sure if she was messing with me or if Yumi just had a natural knack to say sexual innuendos. I felt her fingers lightly touch my back as she hugged her arms around me and pressed her cheek against my chest.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“For what, Yumi?”
“Being like this, I’m not normally like this.”
“It’s ok. I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
“I just don’t want people to think I’m soft. With all my responsibilities, I can’t be perceived as weak,” she continued as she looked up at me. “Also, do you know what it is like to open your heart up, only to have it cut out? I don’t want to feel that ever again. It’s worse than death, you know.”
“You know what death is like, Yumi?”
She sighed, “I know it’s what we wish for instead of loss and heartbreak.”
“Honestly, I think it's ok to act soft and show your feelings the way you are now. Maybe some might see it as a weakness, what do they know? Emotions can be hard to understand and control. If you can control them and understand them, I only see that as strength.”
“Thank you, you just put me at ease when you are around. I do have some worries and concerns about reclaiming my manor. I lost everything before. Do you know what that feeling is like?” She asked me.
“I have never lost anything that dramatic before, besides my memories. It is hard to feel for things that you don’t remember, though. Once I have them back, maybe then I will have a grasp of what you are feeling a bit more.” I hugged her back and put my chin on top of her head. “I will do what I can to make sure no one loses anything like that anymore.”
I couldn’t tell if she was crying. It seemed like she was. I felt her chin tremoring against my chest faintly as her body sagged into mine. She had a hard enough time just giving me a hug, let alone let me see her crying. I just held onto her while she did her thing. I don’t think I could find the right words anyways. I figured I would let her have her moment, and I would just be there for her. This woman needed validation.
We stood there for a long time. At that moment, it felt like I finally did something right.
People were talking and hanging out down in the guild when I returned back downstairs. Yumi had bid me goodbye to get some time alone. I noticed many of the members and people around me kind of kept their distance. I never really was a stick of social dynamite, so it didn’t really bother me. It honestly was more me keeping my distance from them. You get used to hiding things about yourself when you have habits like I do. I also just don’t really like people too much. They were skilled at letting me down in the past and hurting me. It’s not like I had a lot of great people around me in my old world, though. I looked at Mew again. I didn’t mean to make her feel bad. Fact is, I’m just an idiot. She didn’t even really look at me when she brought my drink over.
About that time was when a cloaked figure walked into the guild. Everyone was put on edge; apparently, this wasn’t a person that they recognized. The cloaked figure stopped a few feet inside the entryway, and they were there just standing, turning their head looking around. Even Mew stopped washing a glass to inspect the cloaked fig
ure. The figure pinpointed on me and started walking towards me. I heard the sounds of chairs scraping against the floor, I heard Mew set the glass down, there were whispers. I felt Mew inch closer to stand behind me. The figure was directly in front of me. They pulled back their hood.
“Hi, Master!”
“Mecci?”
“Look what I got,” she did a twirl in the cloak like a model, spinning around. I heard some rustling, some sighs, and everyone went back to what they were doing.
“Where did you get that cloak at? Did you go buy it?”
“Nope.”
“You made it?”
“I STOLE IT!” She exclaimed while throwing her hands up in the air like some professional cheerleader.
I grabbed her hands and brought them down while shooshing her, “Don’t tell everyone around us that you are a thief! I don’t think we need that kind of reputation.”
“Master, I stole it from the people I was spying on. You know, to blend in,” she whispered fairly loud to me behind her hand.
“No wonder everyone here was on edge. You probably looked just like one of the bad guys. I think you are lucky no one stabbed your ass.”
“Why would someone stab my ass?”
“It’s- no, never mind, it doesn’t matter. What did you find out?”
She tapped her finger to her bottom lip, “It is a bit to go over, so I think it's best to meet with Yumi and let you both know what I found out.”
A few minutes later, we were in Yumi’s office, joined by Yumi and Warren. There were some papers scattered out on the table in between us. The vibe was solemn. There were no plushies in this room.
Yumi looked towards Mecci and asked, “Alright, Mecci. What kind of information did you get while you were out sneaking around?”
