Arc | Chapter. 100: Unexpected Connections (Patreon)

Chapter. 100: Unexpected Connections

Blake couldn’t believe his ears. He was familiar with Arc, the eccentric hero that had deceived him once before through telling the truth. He had been doubtful in the past, and even for weeks after the battle of mount Arlais he had second-guessed the events that took place. What he saw in the forest; the ice that wouldn’t melt; the fact that she herself had ice powers.

And now, everything had been confirmed by mere coincidence. The lie, or rather the truth that Arc had told was now out, and it was deeper than Blake had ever imagined.

The white-haired girl was a hero.

She was known as the Heroine of Frost.

In the past, she had been so uncooperative with him that Blake was certain she would the General’s request, except… she didn’t. She had agreed with a reluctant sigh, almost as if she was too tired to deal with what was going on.

Of course, Blake couldn’t understand the woes of a hero, let alone their struggles. But it was all so strange to him. Even getting her to accept the Medal of Bravery had been a slight struggle. But now, Arc had agreed to an audience and Blake couldn’t believe it. And from the looks of it, Blake wasn’t the only one that was surprised.

Even the General had stopped, he looked ahead in silence as his brain parsed the reply.

A second passed and then the General nodded.

“Very well.”

With those words, the General gestured at the surrounding army. Blake paused, and a moment later everyone else began to advance.

It was happening…

They were having an audience with the Heroine of Frost.

The truth was, Blake was nervous about what could potentially happen given what he knew of Arc. She was too eager to start fights in his opinion, any small disagreement would lead to a tense confrontation.

However, he tried to not think too much about that as they approached the hero. Instead, Blake took in the tension around. He could see some of the Elite Dark Knights trembling, and it was all because of the simple reason that it was their first time meeting a hero; they had all heard fantastical tales about them during their upbringing ⁠— Of their strength, of their feats and of their unstable nature.

And finally before long, they stood face to face with the white-haired woman. The General coughed.

“Heroine, I’d like to ask you about your connection to the Hero of Frost.”

Blake paused⁠— that’s right… He had forgotten. The Hero of Frost had saved one of the towns of the Black Forest, Ranedale along with his mount, the Dragon of Flames. But now, Arc was the Heroine of Frost.

It didn’t make sense…

And looking around, everyone seemed just as confused, except for Jake the Weapon Master and his companion. Even the other two S Tier adventurers were observing like hawks.

So, what would the answer be…?

They all stared at the Heroine of Frost, who raised her brow.

“The Hero of Frost?” she asked. “I’ve never heard of him before, sorry.” Then, she shook her head. “Any other question?”

The General blinked and then quickly composed himself.

“Yes, what are you doing in this place? Did you come after the necromancer?”

Everyone heard attentively for what was about to be said, but in the end the Heroine of Frost shook her head once more.

“I didn’t come after the Hero of Necromancy, I was just here to help a friend level up.”

“Friend?” The Commander’s confused voice rang.

“Not going to answer that.” She frowned. “Any other question?”

This audience was… Blake felt awkward about the entire thing. But still, the Hero of Necromancy…?

“Wait, doesn't that mean you just slayed a… hero?” The General was baffled.

“Yeah, and he kept talking about destroying Draliz.” The woman sighed. “Can I just go now?”

“No wait!” The General hurriedly pleaded.

The Heroine of Frost crossed her arms, now clearly annoyed.

“What is it?”

“If you’re telling the truth about slaying the Hero of Necromancy. Then I’d like to invite you  to celebrate your accomplishment.”

“An invitation…?”

The General nodded and hurriedly continued.

“Yes an event⁠— a party in your favor,” the General said, his tone somewhat desperate.

Even though the General’s behavior was weird, Blake could understand it. Making acquaintance of a hero was the opportunity of a lifetime, however more importantly⁠— having a hero in Draliz’s side would be ideal for the country.

“Party?” Arc shook her head. “I don’t like parties. But if you’re insistent…” She pondered for a moment looking at the sky. “Then how about a dinner?”

The General paused and a moment later, they immediately nodded.

“But, I have conditions.”

And Arc’s eyes narrowed.

* * * * *

In the end, I had taken the General aside and essentially interrogated him about things. And well, I had arrived at a deal where most of the Elite Dark Knights would have this memory somewhat suppressed⁠— I didn’t know how it worked but he reassured me that he’d do anything for my favor.

Which, well, was nice I supposed.

And now, I had returned to the town, finding Ceylon at the inn we were staying at. Jake and Giselle had gone their separate ways, taking the two adventurers with them. The General had left along with the knights, all in order to fulfill my requirements.

The dinner was going to be today, so unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to spend the rest of the day with Ceylon today. As much as I disliked that idea ⁠— I didn’t want to drag her around. I explained the sequence of events to her and all she could do was blink.

“So now, quite a few people in the Elite Dark Knights know your identity?” she asked as if making sure.

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“And that’s why I can’t come?” She raised her brow.

I scratched my head. “Yeah…”

“That…” She blinked again. “Arc that makes no sense. Them knowing I am affiliated with you won’t make a difference.”

I paused hearing her. “Well, do you want them to know you’re affiliated with me?”

There was a brief silence before she sighed.

“Arc, so long as I’m with you. I don’t really mind. It’s not as if the whole world will know.” She shook her head. “The Elite Dark Knights take their promises very seriously so it’s not something to worry about.”

I listened to Ceylon’s words, and ultimately nodded, agreeing with her.

“Alright.”

There was a small silence and Ceylon stood up from my side. She took a step forward, and with a turn she clapped her hands smiling widely at me.

“Now with that out of the way we should go clothes shopping for dinner.”

“Go clothes shopping…?” I blinked, sitting on the bed. “You know I don’t do that…”

Ceylon paused and then slowly nodded.

“Yeah, maybe you don’t need to change your clothes but at least could you let me see you in different clothes…?” she requested softly.

“I…” I was hesitating. But… “Sure… that’s fine.”

I didn’t know how to feel about it, but even in spite of my mood I still cared a lot about Ceylon. I wanted to see her happy, and if I was honest the request wasn’t really a huge deal.

“Thank you.” Ceylon smiled, extending her hand. “Let’s go then?”

I nodded, softly grabbing onto it.

“Yeah.”

◇ ◇ ◇

We quickly found clothes for Ceylon, and the rest of our shopping consisted in Ceylon telling me to try certain clothes. Which I agreed to. They varied from long flowing dresses that showed a lot of my pale skin, to even scholarly clothes. All in all, it was an… entertaining experience, and it seemed to make Ceylon happy so that was fine by me.

I knew that I also had to find my own selfish reasons to be happy rather than derive them from Ceylon, but this was fine for now. I had a lot of thinking left to do, and unfortunately I had some things to take care of before that.

Namely the dinner.

Which we set off to not soon after.

◇ ◇ ◇

We arrived at the next town over, Bristlethorne, it was also where Jake and Giselle were staying. But we weren’t there for that, instead we headed to the fanciest and most luxurious restaurant that we could find. There the receptionist immediately greeted us with a smile and made us enter.

And then I realized⁠— the entirety of the restaurant was empty. It was all devoid of people except for a single table that had a man with graying hair and another younger looking man. They both stood up and the older man greeted me as soon as we reached the table.

“Welcome Miss Arc, I’m the General of the Elite Dark Knights, Faum,” he said with a nod. “This person here is Blake, a Commander in the Elite Dark Knights and the person that awarded you your Medal of Bravery.”

I blinked. “Oh, I see. And the other knights are…?”

“They have been dealt with.” Faum smiled as if it was not a big deal. “Your comfort is of utmost importance to us after all.”

I nodded and then he turned to look at Ceylon.

“Who are you Miss?”

“I am Ceylon, Arc’s friend.” And she bowed.

“Oh Ceylon Arlow, yes.” He nodded. “I remember now. Why don’t you two take a seat, there is one person who is yet to arrive. However, don’t worry their identity has not been disclosed to them,” he reassured.

I sat down, and Ceylon did too. But I was still confused.

“Right, but who is this person and why were they invited?”

“Oh, they are the first daughter of the Orow family.”

Ceylon blinked. “The Orow family?”

“That is correct⁠—”

And a snort echoed through the restaurant. I blinked only to hear an annoying voice at the entrance.

“You’re telling me this entire place has been rented by the Elite Dark Knights? Preposterous.”

There was a pause before I heard the receptionist reply. “Unfortunately so, sir.”

There was a woman with the man, but she seemed almost… embarrassed?

“I’m not a sir, I’m Edwan Rowan from the Rowan family,” he declared. “And I’ll put your restaurant out of business if you don’t let me in right at this very moment.”

He snorted.

“Look there is even a boorish woman with white-hair there.”

He pointed at me, and at that moment I heard Ceylon stand up.

“I’ll deal with this.”

I blinked only to see her striding up to the entrance. The man immediately turned to her, disdain evident in his face.

“What do you want, commoner?”

“I’m not a commoner, I’m Ceylon Arlow and you’re⁠—”

“Oh from the Arlow family? That shame of a noble house?” He sneered. “How dare you talk to me that way⁠—”

And Ceylon swung⁠— a the shining butt of the spear hit the man across the face like a gulf club. The noble was sent back, fainting as he hit the ground. And then there was a silence as Ceylon breathed, vanishing the spear back into the Storage Ring without a word.

She turned to the receptionist.

“Please dispose of him.”

“Right…”

And with that she returned. The noble man’s date had disappeared, not like I thought too much about it as I turned to my friend. I was concerned.

“Are you alright…?”

“I…” She sighed. “I know I shouldn’t have hit him, but he insulted you and my family. I don't think I can allow that, I just felt such anger at that moment that I couldn’t help it…” she trailed off.

“Right…” I nodded. “I appreciate it, Ceylon. Thank you for standing up for me.”

She paused. “You’re welcome, Arc.”

We shared a small smile to each other and at that moment we heard footsteps approaching. I turned in the direction of the entrance only to see a woman coming our way. She had neatly combed deep purple hair and an elegant dress, her piercing golden eyes met mine and shortly after she took a seat.

“Sorry I’m late. I’m the daughter of the Orow family, Iris. I’m here to make business with you Arc.”

I blinked. “Business with me?”

She nodded and met my gaze.

“The Hero of Spirits wishes to strike a deal with you, the Heroine of Frost.”