[TWS] Chapter 322 – Actions and Their Consequences (Patreon)

Asterios smiled back at the slightly uncertain wolfgirl.

“I know you’ve been using a spear for most of your life, but I would like you to trust me on this,” he began. “Let’s just say that I know someone who can get a good read on people and then prepare something perfectly fitting them, even if they aren’t fully aware of their talents.”

“Have you ever held a glaive?” Selene asked curiously.

Zoe hugged the weapon to her chest and glanced down at it. “Actually, yes. It was brief, but I kept testing out a few different options when I was young. But I don’t think I felt anything special with any kind of polearm. The spear has always been the main one within our family.”

“I’ve always been using shortswords too but look what I got now!” Miria chimed in and unsheathed her new blades.

Within a moment, she extended their connected pommels and turned them into something else entirely. She spun her bladed staff happily, making whooshing noise in the guest room, barely avoiding nicking any furniture with her excited movements.

“I didn’t think it would fit me, but they were right, and I’ve been in love with these since the first battle in which I had the chance to have fun like this!” the panthergirl added. “Of course, I still mostly use them in their separated form.”

“The first weapon I received from our talented friends was quite shocking too,” Asterios continued. “It was something more fitting for an assassin than me. Now, I’ve been gifted something else entirely after all the progress I made.”

He summoned his own weapon with a flick of his wrist and the greatsword materialized over his back. With practiced movements, he brought it forth and showcased the impressive blade to the Wolfkin girl.

“You don’t have to accept this weapon if you think it doesn’t fit you,” Selene chimed in, walking a bit closer. “But I would suggest first trying it out a little before making any decisions. You might learn something surprising.”

“I would never reject such an exquisite gift.” Zoe hastily shook her head. “But maybe you are right. It does already feel very comfortable in my grip.”

The fox lady waved her hand and the nearby furniture floated up from the floor while coated with a light blue aura. In a flash, everything was out of reach and they stood in a slightly more open space. If they managed to keep themselves more or less in the rectangular arena she had created for them, Asterios and Zoe shouldn’t accidentally cut anything into pieces.

He understood Selene’s intentions and took a defensive stance. Zoe glanced at Miria and her vulpine sister-mate before finally letting their reassuring nods convince her to partake in this mock practice spar. She felt her new weapon in her hands for a few seconds, gave it a spin or two, and dropped her posture much lower, pointing the tip of her glaive at Asterios.

She didn’t give him any warning before thrusting forward. Her strike came at him like an angry snake aiming to sink its fangs into the flesh of his lower torso. Asterios quickly angled his greatsword to parry the attack to the side, keeping in mind their limited space. It wouldn’t be fun to ruin Zoe’s home by accident.

The lessons he’d been receiving from the girls kicked in and he kept his blade close to his body, neatly changing its position to intercept all the ferocious jabs Zoe aimed at him. Thankfully, her own weapon was just as big as his so she also had to struggle a bit with her attacks if she didn’t want to skewer some poor cupboard or wardrobe. Any fancier maneuvers were out of the question too.

Still, Asterios and the girls clearly noticed the change in her approach the longer he and Zoe dueled. She was becoming faster and more creative with her angles. Her stabs were often followed with instinctual swipes, making use of the curved blade at the tip of her glaive. Her breathing was growing more and more erratic as she gave her best to land a meaningful strike against Asterios, completely consumed by their impromptu competition.

Naturally, he had gathered a few cuts already but nothing too serious. He was able to mitigate most damage by continuing to focus on defense. His goal was to give Zoe an opportunity to exhaust all her moves and grow closer to her new weapon, not to beat her in a spar. And so far, it seemed to be working.

But, the fierce wolfgirl was starting to get quite heated, her charming eyes sparkling with incredible ferocity. Perhaps she was beginning to take their little scuffle a bit too seriously, bonding with her glaive much quicker than any of them had expected. Noticing that he was backing off closer and closer to nearby furniture, he decided that it was time to end this.

Asterios pushed more draconic mana into his circuits and body, enhancing his senses and reflexes. Within the next thrust, he applied a different kind of technique, a more offensive feint and parry, leading his blade forward over the long shaft of her glaive. The change surprised her and he succeeded in crossing the distance separating them with a single step, ending up with the edge of his greatsword pressed into Zoe’s neck, their faces practically nose to nose.

“And? How does it feel?” he asked with a small smirk.

Zoe’s cheeks flushed a bit more than from just pure exhaustion and she smiled shyly. “Good... Very… pleasant.”

Lowering his weapon, he stepped away and put it behind his back. She also lowered her polearm but kept it by her side, looking at it with some newfound respect. It looked like the brief spar had her convinced.

“Now I’m actually getting unsure if I’m worthy of receiving such an unbelievable gift,” Zoe said in a quiet voice.

“You haven’t seen anything yet!” Miria beamed at her, and with a single swipe of her hand, she stole the weapon from her friend, running to the other end of the room. “I think you are attuned enough now. Snap your fingers.”

Albeit a bit confused, Zoe did as she’d been told and the glaive hummed pleasantly as it yanked itself out of Miria’s grip and zoomed through the air right into the wolfgirl’s palm. Her eyes couldn’t get any bigger than now.

“There are a few more tricks to learn but you can read the manual later.” The panthergirl giggled. “What do you think? Do you like Master’s gift?”

“I… I don’t know what to say…” Zoe glanced at her and Asterios with an upturned gaze, her tail wagging lightly behind her legs. “It’s like a dream… And I don’t know how I will ever repay this to you…”

He stepped closer to rest a hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly. “You already did. By helping us out in the Steppes and also becoming one of my allies. I promised you a nice something for everything you did and here it is.”

“Thank you. A lot.” She chuckled quietly. “I really appreciate it. I swear I’ll make good use of it and will never slack off on maintenance.”

“I don’t think it will need much maintenance considering the fact that it’s artifact-grade.” Selene smirked from the side.

Zoe looked between her new weapon and Asterios a few times before stepping forward and leaving a quick peck on his cheek, her left ear twitching furiously and her tail speeding up like crazy.

She hastily pulled back, glanced Miria’s way just to find the panthergirl grinning at her, and cast her eyes to the side. “Thanks.”

“Now, that’s what I call a family heirloom,” a new voice joined them from the doorway. “If only we had any puppies that could inherit it.”

The wolfgirl practically jumped into the air and flushed completely crimson. “Mom! How long have you been here?!”

Her mother chuckled openly as she rested her shoulder against the wall next to the entrance. “Since the very beginning, Zee. And it was worth it.”

“Stop! It’s just payment for my services from back then!” Zoe barked at her.

“Is it?” Zuri snickered.

“Yes!” her daughter confirmed with quite some power.

“If you say so.” The older lady sniffed. “Perhaps you should offer them more often if they are paying so well. It’s a professional relationship worth developing further.”

The younger woman didn’t have an immediate reply to that besides looking away again with her tail smacking the air with impressive speed. Miria jumped in and looped her arm over her friend’s shoulder, directing a wide smile at Zoe’s mother.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Searfang! Zoe is already one of us! She is working hard on convincing everyone to come under Master’s care!” the panthergirl announced happily.

“Good. This place could use some good change. And so could this family.” Zuri chuckled cryptically.

After Selene returned the furniture to its proper place, the canine ladies invited everyone for some tea and they sat down together to chat a little about various things. The conversation often steered onto the weapon itself, which wasn’t too surprising. The enchanted glaive made of special material that came from a reaction of simple metals with Ast’s blood was certainly a huge deal. Zoe’s mom couldn’t believe it but her daughter assured her that all of it was true.

About an hour later, they all agreed that it was time to end their pleasant gathering and return to their responsibilities. Zoe once more thanked Asterios and the girls for the gift along with her mother, who actually pushed the younger wolfgirl to escort them into the village instead of staying behind. So, they shared a brief walk during which plenty of locals stared in awe at the glaive hanging from her back as they headed for the hunter practice halls.

Reaching their destination, they bid their farewells and Asterios took Miria and Selene back to Glimmervale. They checked on Imadil and Cynthia and found the elves already deeply involved in magically marking the received shipment. Almost half of the weapons were ready, but they decided to wait for the entire batch before sharing them with the garrison.

Speaking of which, they explored their connection with Tina to see how their blue-haired sister-mate was doing and found her on the training grounds with the Royal Guard and Irelia. Since they still had to talk with the aspiring Knight about the king’s plan, they picked that location as their next target and transferred themselves through the shadows.

But, shortly after resurfacing behind the castle’s walls, a voice came through the link.

~Look out. Dad just finished his talks. And he looks quite animated.~ Silvia’s gentle chuckle echoed in their minds.

Before the three of them had a chance to even exchange a glance, another person connected with them, a bit louder this time.

~Asterios!~ the king bellowed. ~When were you planning to tell me about the Elf Queen’s quite forward involvement with your precious town?~

Miria and Selene laughed out loud to not give out anything inside their shared link.

~My apologies, Your Majesty. We were planning to touch upon that subject during our last visit but it just escaped our minds somehow,~ he replied with a faint smirk, making the girls snicker again.

~It would have certainly been helpful to have such information on hand before contacting her with the aim of discussing our potential cooperation in Glimmervale’s favor.~ Welrond grunted. ~I had no idea she already held so much over me in that regard. Perhaps I shouldn’t have dismissed the trade routes and the Guild’s agreement. Now, we quickly need to rectify that mistake before the elves put even more claws into you.~

~I’m not sure how we are going to do that, honestly,~ Asterios admitted.

~I had to compromise regarding the defensive battlements and structures, letting the elves partake in their construction equally, but I heard from Silvia about the academy plans,~ the king replied.

~There isn’t enough available space to build it inside the walls right now. It would take the spot already reserved for other buildings. Right, Master?~ Miria joined in while stroking her chin and furrowing her brows. ~What about the embassy?~

~She wouldn’t let me take care of it. They already have everything prepared and are only waiting for your permission.~ Welrond scoffed. ~Then, we will start the academy outside of the current defenses. There will be plenty of space there to take. I’ll assign an entire company for protection if necessary. Or at least a platoon or two. Until the second wall is done.~

~They will have to camp outside. The garrison definitely won’t fit them all,~ Selene mused.

~So they will.~ The king harrumphed. ~Say, are there any nice hills nearby?~

Asterios was going to say no right away, but a slight mental ping from a certain hidden entity stopped him. ~I think we can figure something out. Why?~

~Best institutions are always elevated. And it’s also much safer to defend from them. Plus, they just look cool on top of a small mountain.~ Silvia’s father chuckled lightly.

~Okay. We’ll see what can be done about that. Is there anything else?~ Asterios shared amused glances with his mates.

~We are putting up a House of Representatives in Glimmervale to counter those pointy-eared bastards. It’s like an embassy but in the same kingdom. We can appoint a noble family or two to serve as a link between the town and the royal castle, including me and my advisors. Do you have anyone in mind or should I look around my loyal houses?~ Welrond asked.

Miria’s eyes went wide and she bit into her bottom lip to hold down her bubbling excitement. It made Asterios chuckle out loud seeing her almost vibrating in front of him. He knew perfectly well what was on her mind and nodded.

~Perhaps. Does Hestizo ring a bell? Or maybe Nobelle if it does have to be nobles specifically? Possibly Richtenstein?~ he suggested.

~Oh. Ohhhh. I should have thought about this myself!~ the king shouted and they were sure he had smacked himself on the forehead. ~Three would be great. I should be able to smuggle your mother in with the other two somehow. Everyone knows how beneficial to the kingdom her lineage is. I’ll get to it right away.~

~Great. Should I let them know or keep it a secret?~ Asterios pondered out loud in his mind.

~It has to be official so stay away from them for now. There’s so much paperwork to be done. Oh, and are you looking to invite a specific order or school to settle down at the academy or will you start your own?~ Welrond inquired.

“DRAGON KNIGHTS!” Miria squealed loudly, making the other two wince. “DRAGON KNIGHTS! DRAGON KNIGHTS! DRAGON KNIGHTS! PLEAAAAAAAAAASEEEEEE!”

~I think… We might want to try something out ourselves…~ Asterios answered, massaging his ear to reenable it after the sudden assault. ~But we have no idea how to even begin.~

~Yeah. That’s much harder. But it gives you more freedom of choice.~ The king hummed. ~It will take much longer to reach a satisfying level. You basically have to attract instructors and let them teach for a while to see if they are a good fit for your program. Which, naturally, has to be firstly at least partially developed with some experts. But, that can be arranged. Won’t be easy, but doable. Especially with the kingdom’s support and your ever-growing fame. Hero of the Rift. Cultist Conqueror. Champion of Nature.~

~Why am I not aware of any of those?~ Asterios smiled wryly. ~Or did you just make them up on the fly?~

~You’ll have to learn that yourself.~ He could feel the sly wink in the man’s words.

~Alright. Anything else?~ Asterios shook his head.

~No. Not yet, at least. But there will be more. A lot. And it’s all your fault. Just who told you to butter the elves up so much to practically revere you like their second queen? Now better prepare for the consequences of your actions. You will drown in support no matter if you want it or not. Sleep on that.~ Welrond’s presence faded away as he finished.

Asterios took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. “What the hell…”

~I still think it could have been worse,~ Silvia commented with a faintly amused tone. ~You should have seen how he stormed out of the room after Umbra cut off the projection.~

“Now I will need to juggle not one but two monarchs trying to one-up another constantly.” He sighed heavily.

“Or more.” Selene grinned at him. “What about letting the Demon King in on the fun?”

“Nope. No chance. We can do without bare-chested and well-oiled elite sentries patrolling the top of the wall.” Asterios raised his hands into the air. “First, we deal with the current chaos. Then, we shall see. Come on. Tina is waiting for us.”

They resumed their walk towards the practice grounds while Miria couldn’t stop talking about their own academy for Dragon Knights. She fantasized that they could give them wings somehow so they could fly through the sky without any mounts and rain death and destruction on their enemies from high above.

Soon enough, they were at their destination. At the current time, the only people filling the training field belonged to Tina’s squad. Other groups must have been on a different schedule. Excluding Irelia, of course, who bravely practiced alongside the members of the Royal Guard. As much as she could keep up.

Currently, they were all sparring in pairs with their preferred weapons. Irelia was paired up with Kathy while Tina observed from the sidelines. She noticed their approach and smiled broadly at the incoming trio.

“I heard the king. We are in so much trouble, aren’t we?” She chuckled quietly.

“When aren’t we in huge trouble.” Asterios snorted. “How is it going here?”

“Good. They took a liking to Irelia. Today is our turn, tomorrow Ted takes over, and so on. I think this will be fair for everyone. Though, her father came looking for her recently.” Tina moved a bit closer to lean onto him and he wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Something happened?” Miria asked anxiously.

“No, nothing bad. It looks like she forgot to tell him about our arrangement yesterday,” Tina replied. “Who can blame her, though? She must have been so excited. This girl doesn’t really show it openly but there are signs. She kind of reminds me of myself after I was accepted to Rosewind’s. I couldn’t sleep for two days, I was just that happy. Little did I know that real happiness was just around the corner of that very school.”

“So, everything is resolved?” Selene rested her chin on Miria’s shoulder while embracing the panthergirl from behind.

“Yes. We spoke about her training. He was thankful for the opportunity, and seemed like someone who wants the best for his daughter,” Tina explained.

“No surprise after what she’s been through.” Asterios sighed.

At that moment, the training segment ended, and Irelia found them glancing her way. She exchanged a few words with her partner and jogged up to meet them.

“Hello.” She greeted them with a polite bow, wiping off her brow.

Asterios summoned and passed her a clean waterskin. “Working hard, I see. No problems with that guy from yesterday?”

Irelia shook her head. “None. But they do give me the stink eye when we pass each other.”

“There’s something regarding them that we would like to discuss. Do you have a moment?” he asked.

“Sure.” She shrugged. “We have fifteen minutes of a break right now.”

“As unbelievable as it might sound, those people have been sent here by the king to… fix their behavior a little bit. And we believe you might be the key to that. You have great talent and learn very fast. Even if you are still far behind them in many areas, the speed at which you progress is quite remarkable. The king wanted to show them that being a little bit nicer can make a difference. Basically, the instructors are going to give more support and attention to you and let you confront them openly in some exercises to stomp on their ego and try to force them to change their ways a bit when they see you catching up. But, this certainly won’t be easy as it puts you in the center of their aversion so you don’t need to accept this request,” Asterios explained everything properly.

Irelia remained silent for a few long seconds before looking up at him again. “I still would like to try. They were going to be angry with me anyway. I’ve dealt with much worse in the past. I can handle this much. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

“I really would prefer for you not to have had.” Tina showed a sad smile at her talking so lightly about her brother’s abuse. “But I agree with the bit about an opportunity. Being in the king’s grace certainly helps too.”

“And being such a tough girl is perfect for Master’s order!” Miria cheered joyfully.

“Master’s order?” Irelia scrunched her forehead at the merry panthergirl.

Asterios chuckled and plopped a hand on Miria’s hair. “We are going to establish our own Knight Academy in the future, just as we talked about yesterday. Some groundwork is already laid down. It might take a while, but you will always be welcome within its walls after it’s properly set up.”

“Order of the Crimson Dragon,” Selene said while dragging her hand through the air. “A perfect name.”

“Already?” He smiled wryly. “I guess I should have expected that.”

“It sounds amazing.” Irelia looked between them with a dreamy expression. “Perhaps I should start training for your entrance exam instead.”

“Let’s first see how well it goes. There’s no academy without teachers.” Asterios laughed. “But, train hard and you will definitely make it in with flying colors.”

A whistle echoed through the field and Irelia’s head snapped to the back. The break was over and everyone was gathering for the next part. She flashed them one last smile, bowed once more, and jogged back to the group. They stayed behind for a little longer, observing the practice together, and soon turned around to continue with their own responsibilities.

“Well, then. I think it’s time to check out our unruly plot of land deep in the forest,” Asterios announced.

~I’ll meet you there in half an hour,~ Venuzathor’s voice boomed in their minds.

Their next step was decided.