Kanisia Lora (2)

"So you showed up after all?"

Kanisia Lora came toward me with her spear in hand. Her pink hair, still damp from the fierce sparring she'd been locked in only moments before, clung to her scalp and threw off a lewd, almost indecent allure.

Pink really is filthy, isn't it. But who the hell is that guy?

The hulking man who'd been sparring with her stood with his arms crossed, glaring at me through fierce, bulging eyes. Sweat beaded across his scalp and caught the sunlight, flashing in a rapid, glittering rhythm.

Is that fucking Morse code?

Looks like a Fairy. Status window.

Just as I'd expected, the man was Kanisia Lora's Fairy.

Ah, so he's 2-star? Wait... oh, shit. One more level and he'd hit 3-star on the spot.

Abraham and I were both 2-star, but not all 2-stars were created equal. I was a 2-star still in the thick of growing. Abraham was a 2-star in name only — close enough to 3-star that calling him anything less felt like a technicality. His Strength and Vitality had both been pushed to the cap of forty, and his Durability sat at a monstrous thirty-six. On top of that, he carried the Rare-grade trait Heavy Tank, which padded Strength and Vitality by another three points apiece so long as he was strapped into heavy armor and a shield. His class level was maxed at twenty. Every skill he had was piled high. On paper he was 2-star. In practice, he might as well have been 3-star already.

"Ah, this is my Fairy, Abraham. Abraham? Say hello. This is Alan Han."

"...Well met, Lord Han. I am Abraham, Fairy in service to Princess Lora."

"...A pleasure, Abraham. I'm Alan Han."

The old-fashioned cadence caught me off guard for a beat, but I returned the greeting soon enough. Then I introduced Aquaril to Kanisia Lora in turn.

"This is my Fairy, Aquaril."

"A pleasure to meet you, Princess Lora. Abraham. I am called Aquaril."

"Yeah, nice to meet you. Pretty, just like a Fairy ought to be."

The introductions wrapped up, and we got down to business.

"So. You want to work for His Majesty the Blood Axe King?"

"That's right. I've always admired him. Respected him, too."

"Eugh? You like him and you respect him? Wait — are you gay?"

"I am not. I am insanely fond of women."

The look of pure disgust on Kanisia Lora's face made me answer faster than I meant to, just in case the misunderstanding took root. It didn't help. Her expression didn't improve in the slightest.

"I've heard a hard no is just a hard yes..."

"M-Master?"

Why is this conversation going that way? And Aquaril — you do not get to react like that! How many times have you and I had sex? Goddammit. I really need to stop using bits that only I understand.

"...I am genuinely not gay. I'd prefer you didn't get the wrong idea."

"Fine, fine. I was joking. Don't get so stiff about it."

Kanisia Lora ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shrugged with a little smile, and I wanted nothing more than to plant a fist in the crown of that insufferable woman's head. The problem was the mountain standing behind her. Abraham would beat the living hell out of me. So I'd sit on it until I was stronger than both of them.

"Anyway. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Do you actually understand what it means to become one of His Majesty's people?"

"I'd be grateful if you could explain in more detail."

"It's not complicated. It means your feet get tied down."

Tied down. In other words, I would spend the rest of my life in Chinnimoni, following the Blood Axe King.

"I'm prepared for that much."

"Are you?"

I already knew the Blood Axe King wouldn't last much longer, so I answered without hesitation. Kanisia Lora looked at me like she hadn't expected that.

"You seemed like the type who hates being tied to anything... Guess I read you wrong."

"....."

That caught me off guard. How had she known?

I intended to follow the story of Fairy Masters all the way to the end and become Gaiarium's one and only emperor. Following the story meant drifting from city to city with no home base to plant a flag in. The last thing I wanted was to crawl under someone and work like a dog for the rest of my life. I'd already had my fill of that in my last one.

And she had pulled that out of me from a first meeting and a handful of sentences. The insight on this woman was genuinely impressive.

I'm liking her more and more.

Which only made me covet her all the harder. A woman who could read people like that would work for me without being told what to do.

That said...

There had been something bitter in her face when she said it. Maybe she hated being bound to a place as much as I did.

"Well. Whatever. Come on up. Let's go a round."

"Pardon?"

"Why the face? You didn't actually think we'd take you in just because you said you wanted to serve His Majesty, did you? We pick our people too."

"Does that mean I have to defeat you, Lady Kanisia Lora?"

I asked because I had to. Even if Aquaril and I came at her together, winning was a fantasy, and a grim one. Skill levels only rose through actual combat, and hers told me everything I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠needed to know about how strong she was and how much blood she had already put on the floor.

She shook her head, to my relief.

"No. I'm just evaluating you. If you look useful enough, I'll take you."

"Useful enough?"

A maddeningly vague bar. Useful compared to what, exactly? I didn't get the chance to press. Kanisia Lora was already whirling her spear through the air in lazy, humming arcs, as if to say hurry up and climb.

"Let's go."

"Yes, Master."

In the end, Aquaril and I stepped up onto the sparring ground.

"You're both coming at me?"

"If I don't want to put on a pathetic showing, I believe we have to. Or would you rather we fight one at a time?"

"Nah, it's fine. I'll actually work up a decent sweat if you both come at once."

"....."

I frowned. She wasn't wrong. Hearing it to my face still stung.

"Aquaril. You know how we fight this?"

"Yes, Master."

Same as when we brought down Hwaryongwang. I would take Kanisia Lora from the front. Aquaril would hit her from behind.

"Make ready."

Abraham stepped between the three of us, apparently intending to referee, and spoke in that low, rumbling voice. Aquaril and I tightened our grips on our weapons until our knuckles went white. We were burning for it. Kanisia Lora, by contrast, stood there like she'd wandered out for a stroll.

I may not win — but I'm landing at least one hit.

What an insufferable little bitch. I'd already planned to go all out. Watching her stand there like that just made me want to go harder.

"Begin the bout!"

At Abraham's cry, Aquaril and I charged. Only then did Kanisia Lora settle her spear and drop into a proper stance.

"Hup!"

I drove power into my legs and exploded forward, then sprang high, meaning to bring the sword down from above.

"That leaves your belly wide open. How disappointing."

A sly little grin on her face, she drove the spear straight at my gut. With my blade raised high there was no way to bat the thrust aside. Stay like this and I was going to be run through.

Steel rang. Before the spearhead could punch through my stomach, Aquaril moved — she swung with everything she had and knocked the shaft aside.

"Kh—?!"

The parry landed, but Aquaril's face went tight with shock. The spear was far heavier than she'd expected, and the force behind it was anything but ordinary.

No wonder. With my trait's buff, my Strength sat at thirty-one; Aquaril's was one higher, at thirty-two. Kanisia Lora's Strength was a staggering fifty-two — a full twenty points above either of us. In a contest of raw power we could die, come back, and still never win.

Which meant we had to live on speed. Fortunately her Agility was thirty-three to Aquaril's thirty-seven. In sheer quickness, Aquaril had a slim edge.

"Hah!"

With the spear knocked wide I could keep the attack going. My body came down out of the air and I slashed for her. Steel met steel. She caught my blade on the spear — stopping a shaft that her own Strength had just sent recoiling upward, freezing it in the middle of its arc by brute force alone, and turning it into a guard.

Then the butt of the spear came whipping in from the side, aimed at my head. I got the shield up in time. The impact still nearly took me off my feet. Stronger than Hwaryongwang's magic, and it wasn't even close. I stamped down hard and dragged my balance back under me. I was not going to give her the satisfaction of watching me sprawl on my ass.

In that same breath Aquaril slipped behind her and cut. My Fairy had felt it in the first exchange — if this dragged into a long fight, we were finished. She opened with Swift Blade, and the sword moved at a speed the eye could barely track.

"Ohh? Not bad. You're fast."

Steel rang, and rang, and rang again. Kanisia Lora drifted backward at her leisure and picked every cut out of the air. Then she answered — a sweeping counter with the spear that sent Aquaril scrambling. Four points of Agility was not enough to overwhelm her. It was not even enough to graze her clothes.

Temptation!

Watching that spear come around for Aquaril, I fired the skill.

"Huh?"

The spearhead that had been driving at Aquaril veered off as if a magnet had seized it, swinging toward me instead. The weapon turned against her will, and genuine surprise flashed across Kanisia's face. It put me in the line of fire — but it also handed Aquaril a perfect opening.

Aquaril's eyes lit. She swung as if she fully intended to kill her. The blade cut for that fine throat, pink hair still plastered against it.

"That's just too honest an attack."

"What?"

What she did next went well beyond anything I'd predicted. She simply let go of the spear and stepped back. Aquaril's sword carved empty air.

Aquaril lunged after her and cut again, and again. It was useless. Kanisia twisted her body by inches and let every stroke slide past her.

"You're fucking strong!"

"Thanks for the compliment."

She even had the leisure to answer me. Something hot and ugly rolled up through my chest.

I am landing one hit on this woman if it kills me.

I threw myself at her, aiming to tackle. Grab the waist and she couldn't slip it.

"The Fairy's too honest. So's the Master."

"Gahk—?!"

Fuck — when did she—?

"Master!"

My hands never reached her waist. Something massive slammed into my skull, and the world started to slide.

A window bloomed in front of my eyes.

Are you out of your fucking mind.

I dismissed the window and went down in a heap. The world went black.

"Master! Please, Master, wake up!"

"Nnh... an unfamiliar ceiling."

"What?"

"Nothing. More importantly, this is... ah. Right."

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Aquaril's face, crumpled with worry. It struck me again, not for the first time, that Fairies were a broken species. Every expression she made was beautiful. Every last one of them was lovely.

"You're up? You've got some grit. Didn't think you'd come around this fast."

I pushed myself up, and Kanisia Lora wandered over, still stretching out those long arms and legs.

"How long was I out?"

"Two minutes. You really woke up quick."

"Is that so?"

I clicked my tongue, the taste of it bitter in my mouth.