The Zombie Knight

Chapter One Hundred Ninety: ‘O, respectable reunion...’

The meetings with the Rainlords ended up taking most of the day. He mainly just told them exactly what he had told Horatio about there being no need for financial reimbursement, and as expected, each family required a similar degree of convincing.

House Elroy was the worst in that regard. Hector wasn’t exactly surprised about that, though. By the end of it, Zeff ended up making Hector promise to train with him everyday from now on. Hector didn’t know if he would actually have the time for that, but he was more than happy to try, at least. Training was important, after all.

Perhaps more than ever, now.

If nothing else, however, Hector was at least glad to see that Zeff had finally managed to get some proper rest. Everyone was still looking pretty battered and worn out, but for the first time in what felt like a very long time, Hector had hope that that might actually begin to change soon.

He had less hope for himself, however. With so much to do, so many things to worry about, he wondered if he would ever be able to find time to sleep again.

At the moment, odds weren’t looking too good.

Around dinner time, he was finally able to sit down and talk to Roman, Gina, and Voreese.

Thankfully, this meeting didn’t feel quite so redundant or formal. It was arguably the most important one of the day, though, Hector knew.

He wasn’t at all sure how to broach the subject of a loan. He certainly would’ve preferred to not broach it at all.

‘Okay, boys, it’s time to fess up,’ said Voreese. ‘How in the name of all that is sacred did you two manage to get yourselves mixed up with a bunch of fucking Rainlords? Not that I don’t absolutely adore them all, of course, in case any of them happen to be overhearing our conversation, right now.’

“That’s an easy question,” said Hector. “Garovel’s sister got mixed up with them first.”

‘What?! Garovel, you’ve got yourself a living sister?!’

‘Yup.’

‘Well, where the hell is she, then, huh? You know I’ve gotta meet her, right?!’

‘Sadly, she and her servant ended up separated from us.’

‘Aww.’

‘We’re not sure of her whereabouts, at the moment.’

‘Well, that seriously bites. You got my hopes up, dammit.’

‘Her name’s Chergoa, in case you somehow happen to cross paths with her before we do.’

‘Oh, I doubt that’ll happen. Roman and I intend to never leave you guys alone again. Isn’t that right, Roman?’

Roman seemed more interested in his ricotta-filled lasagna than anything else.

Hector didn’t blame him. It was damn good. But of course, everything Gina made seemed to turn out that way.

‘Stop ignoring me, you son of a bitch.’

“No.”

‘You can’t just say no like that,’ said Voreese. ‘You’re confusing poor Gina. She can’t hear my end of the conversation.’

“She probably prefers it that way. Right, Gina?”

“Whatever you say, Master Roman.”

‘That’s not funny. Tell Gina that’s not funny.’

“Voreese says she loves you and thinks you’re hilarious.”

“Oh, thank you, Voreese.”

‘You’re both assholes.’

“Tell Voreese I love her, too.”

‘Eh, okay, I guess she’s alright. You’re still a bucktoothed penis, though, Roman.’

Honestly, Hector was content to simply eat his meal and enjoy their conversation with a smile on his face, but he knew that he probably shouldn’t do that. And even if he left all the important talking to Garovel, that would be a little rude to Gina, he felt.

The subjects of killing worms and meeting gods soon came up, and Hector and Garovel struggled through those explanations together.

“...So you’re telling us that there are now a couple of ‘ancient beings’ with untold power roaming around in the Undercrust, doing whatever they want?” said Roman.

Hector bobbed his head. “Well... they wouldn’t be the first. Reapers, servants, worms, feldeaths, Hun’Sho. Those are all ancient beings, too, right?”

“Guess that’s true,” said Roman with a small laugh. “I’m sure a couple of gods will barely even make a splash, then.”

Hector couldn’t really argue with the man’s sarcasm. He had no idea what Royo and Malast would do next, and he almost didn’t want to know.

Roman gave him a look. “You realize this is going to be a gigantic problem, don’t you?”

“Probably, yeah,” said Hector.

“I mean, you’ve got a direct line to the Undercrust here. They could pop up here any time they want and attack you.”

“I don’t think they know where the hole to Warrenhold is,” said Hector.

‘The Warrenhole,’ said Voreese.

“If they’re really gods, they could know just about anything,” said Roman.

‘They’re NOT really gods,’ said Garovel.

“But you said you don’t know the extent of their power,” said Roman. “If they’re strong enough, it doesn’t really matter if they’re gods or not, does it? We still wouldn’t be able to stop them.”

“They didn’t seem... that hostile toward us,” said Hector.

“That’s good,” said Roman. “Guess you wouldn’t be here if they had been, eh?”

‘Who knows?’ said Garovel. ‘I wouldn’t bet against Hector, though.’

Hector threw the reaper a look and noticed Roman and Voreese doing the same. He felt like this conversation was going down a strange road and decided to change the subject. “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it when the time comes,” said Hector. “For now, I’d rather focus on the problems facing Warrenhold and Atreya.”

‘Oh yeah, you guys are in some pretty deep shit, aren’t you?’ said Voreese.

“We’re in it, too, you know,” said Roman.

‘Maybe YOU are,’ said Voreese, ‘but I’m not. I’m an intangible ghost woman. Your crummy economy isn’t gonna affect me.’

“A very helpful way of looking at things, as always,” said Roman.

‘I’m just jokin’, c’mon. Obviously, I care greatly about what happens to this worthless piece of shit you call a homeland.’

“It’s not the land we’re worried about, Voreese,” said Roman. “It’s the people.”

‘You think I don’t know that, you fucking dolt? Don’t try to argue semantics with me.’

“Why not? Semantics are important. You saying clarity doesn’t matter now, you ignorant bint?”

Hector exchanged glances with Gina and wondered how many times she’d heard half of an argument like this. All things considered, she didn’t look particularly confused.

Roman and Voreese’s arguing didn’t seem like it was slowing down, however, so Hector decided to intervene with a question for Gina. “Have you been following the economic crisis?”

“Of course,” she said. “There seems to be a lot of confusion about what actually caused it, though. I don’t think anyone will know that for a while.”

“Madame Carthrace said something similar,” said Hector. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“Um...” Gina took a moment to think, perhaps noticing that Roman had stopped back sassing his imaginary friend. “Well, I’m not much of a financial person, myself, but I’ve got a guy for that, and he--”

“I think you mean I’ve got a guy for that,” said Roman.

Gina tilted her brow at him. “Yes, Master Roman. Technically, he works for you, not me, but do you even know what he looks like?”

“That’s not important.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Why would it be? I bet he doesn’t know what I look like, either.”

“That’s not a good counterargument, Master Roman.”

“What did your financial guy tell you?” said Hector with a mild laugh.

“Oh, he said that the situation probably isn’t as bad as everyone is currently making it out to be,” said Gina. “He’s mainly an investment guy, so he’s really annoyed and thinks that all of this panic is going to upend a lot of the projects he was eyeballing.”

Hector didn’t know what to make of that. It sounded counter to what Amelia had told him.

Or, wait. Did it?

She had said that a bunch of foreign interests would come in and “save” the economy. Maybe that was why this guy, whoever he was, didn’t see the crisis as that big of a deal. Atreya’s financial sovereignty probably didn’t matter to most people.

Hell, did it even matter to Hector?

A year ago, he would’ve said absolutely not, but now?

Shit.

‘Do you want to bring it up, or shall I?’ said Garovel privately.

He knew the reaper was referring to the loan. The specter hanging over this conversation.

‘I’ll do it,’ said Hector. ‘There’s no reason to exclude Gina.’

‘Have at it, then. We can’t sit here all night.’

Roman and Voreese were already arguing over one thing or another again.

He was going to have to interrupt them one more time, Hector knew. No great surprise there. He waited briefly so as not to talk over either of them and then jumped in.

“Mr. Roman,” said Hector, drawing the man’s attention, “I have to--”

“You can just call me Roman, you know.” Roman’s head bobbed to the side. “Unless you intend to make me call you Lord Goffe from now on. In which case, yes, you absolutely have to call me Mr. Roman. Or Mr. Fullister. Or Master Fullister. I do like being called Master. Not Master Roman, though. Only Gina can call me that. It’d be weird if you started saying it, too.”

As he listened, Hector found it increasingly hard to believe that this man was a billionaire. It probably didn’t help that the guy had, as usual, found something weird to wear again. Instead of the armor that Hector had originally materialized for him, Roman was sporting a billiards visor and a windbreaker coat with the words ‘Right On Cue’ on the back in sharply styled letters.

“Fine,” said Hector flatly after Roman was done. “Just Roman, then.”

“Good. And I’ll just call you Hector. Glad we got that all sorted.”

“I have to ask you something,” said Hector, still trying to find the right words here. “And... it’s not... a small something, either.”

“Hmm. I see.” Roman placed his hands on the table. “This not-so-small something wouldn’t happen to be money, would it?”

“...It would, yeah.”

“Ah.” Roman spared a glance at Gina before returning to Hector, then scratched cheek absently. “And here I thought you liked me for my personality.”

At that, Hector couldn’t help exhaling half a laugh, almost like a sigh, and his eyes fell to the table. “I... ah...”

“C’mon, then,” said Roman. “Out with it. How much do you need?”

Hector’s gaze remained on the table as he inhaled through his teeth. He looked up at Roman, then over at Garovel, then at Gina and Voreese, then back at Roman. “...A hundred million?”

Roman’s eyes widened.

“To start with,” Hector felt compelled to add.

Roman’s mouth hung open for a moment, and he furrowed his brow. “What the fuck do you need that much money for?”

“To start a bank,” said Hector. “One that’ll be big enough to... prevent Atreya from being taken over by... foreign interests.”

Roman just kind of kept that same look on his face and didn’t say anything.

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” said Hector.

“Oh, well, that’s good,” said Roman. “I was worried you didn’t know what the fuck you were saying, for a second.”

“And I don’t necessarily... ah... need you to give me all of that. I mean, if you can’t, then--”

“Of course I can’t!” said Roman. “Look, Hector. Yes, I’m filthy rich. I’m not gonna pretend I’m not, but--”

“Ah--are you sure about that?” said Hector. “Because you kinda seem like you’re pretending. All the time, actually.”

“Yeah, alright, sure, you got me,” said Roman, “but that’s not what I’m talking about here. Technically, yes, I could give you a hundred million troa--just out of the kindness of my heart, I guess. But in order to actually do that, I would have to liquidate so many of my assets that, well... let’s just say, I wouldn’t be the only one affected by it. Pretty much of all of my money is being used, right now. That’s what I do. In fact, I’d say that’s the entire point. To put it back into the community. All my money is in real estate, small businesses, charities, that type of thing. I don’t just go home and sit on a big pile of gold coins all day.”

‘Well, there was that one time--’ tried Voreese.

“The point is,” Roman continued, “even if I wanted to just give you that much money--which, by the way, Hector, I don’t particularly--but even if I did, I would have to financially ruin or otherwise fuck over thousands of people, first. Many of whom are children or elderly, mind you.”

Hector gave a slow nod. “I... completely understand.”

“Do you?” said Roman, frowning. “You don’t really know much about me or my business interests.”

Hector had a feeling that he could ask Madame Carthrace and suddenly know a whole lot more about them, but he elected not to say that. “I kinda figured you didn’t want me to know much about them,” he said instead. “Didn’t you say you were a thief?”

“That’s just one aspect of what I do,” said Roman. “Though, lately, I haven’t even been able to do that. Hands’ve been pretty full, if you hadn’t noticed.”

‘You’re preaching to the choir over here,’ said Garovel.

“Look,” said Hector, taking a breath, “I was just telling you what I... currently know about the situation. I wasn’t actually expecting you to just give me a hundred million troa. But that is about how much I need, so any help you would be... willing to offer, ah--that would be appreciated.”

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Roman was quiet for a time, and his frown didn’t leave his face. He rubbed his nose and his chin while he deliberated, perhaps consulting Voreese privately as well.

“Hector,” Roman finally said. “I will do whatever I can to help you. Of course I will. I’m grateful beyond words for everything you’ve done, both for me and for our country. Hell, I’d even go so far as to say that you have my trust--which is not something of mine that many people can claim to have. So, even though I hardly understand what your actual objective is here, that’s almost inconsequential to me, when we get down to it. I may not be able to free up a cool hundred mil for you, but how does ten sound? To start things off, at least.”

“...Ten million?” Hector could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“No, ten troa. Of course ten million! I’m not that much of a dick.”

“That’s...” Hector didn’t even know what to say.

Roman was just looking at him, waiting for him to finish.

‘Say thank you,’ said Garovel privately.

“Ah--er--thank you. That’s amazing. That’s more than I possibly could have hoped for.”

“Funny,” said Roman with a smile. “Wasn’t more than you asked for.”

“Y-yeah...”

“And what did you say this money was going to be used for, again?” said Roman.

Hector’s mouth flattened, mostly from disbelief. “Uh... are you seriously asking me that?”

“Yeah, why? Is it that much trouble to repeat yourself or elaborate?”

“No, it’s just... I mean, did you really just decide to give me ten million troa without understanding what it was for?”

“Well, like I said, you have my trust.”

Hector didn’t know whether to smile or frown at that.

“That’s a bit reckless, Master Roman.”

“Yeah, well, that’s why I’m asking for clarification.”

“You should’ve done that before saying you would give him the money,” said Gina.

“Why? It’s not too late to change my mind. I’m not above going back on my word. Even when it’s in writing. Remember that contract with Genuto Motors a few years ago? Never paid those fuckers a thing.”

“I remember them suing you,” said Gina.

“And I remember them dropping it after one of their server rooms mysteriously caught fire,” said Roman.

“Narrowly avoiding bankruptcy is not something you should brag about, Master Roman.”

“Whatever. That’s all water under the bridge now. C’mon, Hector. Tell me what this money is for again. Some kind of bank, right?”

“Oh, ah, yeah.”

“See? I listen.”

“It’s, ah... basically, it’s to prevent foreign banks from taking over the country,” said Hector, “and, er, challenging the Queen’s power.”

Roman folded his arms, nodding. “So you’re gonna use this money to challenge the Queen’s power?”

Hector reared back in his chair. “Wait, what? No! It’s to stop foreign banks from doing that, not me!”

‘Foreign interests,’ clarified Garovel. ‘Not necessarily banks. We’re hoping to help preserve Atreya’s financial independence through this economic crisis.’

“Oh, okay,” said Roman. “I thought that was a little weird.”

“You didn’t actually think that, did you?!” said Hector.

“Well, I dunno,” said Roman. “I mean, you’ve got all these Rainlords here... and all this land... and I haven’t seen you in a while...”

Hector just lowered his brow at him.

“Heh. You might want to be careful when you tell the Queen about this plan of yours.” Roman allowed a beat to pass. “Or, have you told her about it, already?”

“Not yet,” said Hector. He rubbed his neck, figuring that he should probably go see her soon. How was he even supposed to do that? Or would just a phone call be enough? He’d have to ask Garovel about that later, he supposed.

“Have fun with that, then,” said Roman. “Tell her I said hi.”

“Ah, heh, okay...”

Roman returned to his food, shoveling portions into his mouth at a greater pace than before. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, there’s something else I gotta know. What the hell’re you planning to do with all of these Rainlords?”

Hector busied himself with his own lasagna for a moment while he thought about how to answer that. “...I don’t plan to do anything with them,” he said.

Roman gave him a doubtful look. “Really?”

It didn’t seem like a simple yes would suffice here. “Well, ah... for now, they’re just going to stay here while they figure out their next move.”

“Mm,” hummed Roman. “So all this is just temporary, then?”

“...Yeah,” said Hector, though with a bit of uncertainty. “Did Voreese not explain that to you, already?”

“She did. I just didn’t believe her. And now, I’m not sure I believe you, either.”

Hector just cocked an eyebrow at him.

Roman exhaled a sigh. “You’re not really planning to just let these people go, are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Hector. You’ve got an army here. An army that kinda loves you, from what I’ve seen. And you’re just gonna let it slip through your fingers?” Roman put his fork down and stared him in the eye. “C’mon. Seriously. I don’t have to spell this out for you, do I?”

Hector’s expression soured a little bit. “I think you’ve got the wrong impression of these people...”

“And I think you’re missing the obvious. Listen. The Queen sent me on a recruitment mission for a reason. She knows we need strong people to protect Atreya. She knows that even if things seem fairly safe now, Abolish could return at any time and try to finish what it started. These Rainlords are perfect for--”

Hector held up a hand. “No, I get it. I mean. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about that, too, but...”

“But, what?”

“They have a lot going on, right now,” said Hector. “They’re here to rest.”

“They seemed pretty rested to me,” said Roman.

“Well, they aren’t,” said Hector, more firmly now. “You don’t understand. They’ve been through so much shit, recently. They’ve been betrayed. Attacked. Multiple times. They were even forced to fight each other for a while. And tensions between the families still aren’t exactly perfect, either.”

Roman sat back in his seat a little. “I’m not claiming to know more about their circumstances than you. At this table, you and Garovel are obviously the experts on that. All I’m saying is that there’s a golden opportunity here, and you’re a fool if you let it pass you by.”

“It’s not that--”

‘How would you suggest we take advantage of it, then?’ said Garovel, drawing Hector’s glance.

“Simple,” said Roman. “Make them dependent on you.”

Okay. Hector did not appreciate that advice.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” said Roman. “They’re already dependent on you, aren’t they? I just mean, use these circumstances to your advantage and try to foster a relationship that continues on like this into the foreseeable future.”

Hector just kept staring at him.

“What?” said Roman. “I’m not saying you should try to keep them under your thumb like some kind of dictator. That’d be a good way to make them hate you. For anything like this to work, they would have to consider it a beneficial relationship from their end, too.”

Still, Hector merely kept looking at him.

Roman sighed. “Hector. Trust me. If you just let them go, they will.”

‘That, or they’ll try to take Warrenhold from you,’ said Voreese. ‘‘Bout a fifty-fifty shot either way, I’d say.’

Hector shot her a look, now. “The Rainlords wouldn’t do something like that.”

‘Oh, right, because they’re so honorable or whatever?’ said Voreese. ‘Please. Lotta pretty words and warm feelings--that’s all that is. Make no mistake, Hector. If they ever come to see you as an obstacle, they’ll turn on you in a heartbeat. Unless you marry into one of the families, maybe. In fact, I bet they’ll try to pressure you into that soon.’

‘Gah, why’d you have to go and warn him?’ said Garovel. ‘I wanted to see his raw reaction when they suddenly spring it on him, dammit.’

‘Oh. Ah. My bad.’

Hector’s face was stuck as he thought about what they’d just said. Marriage? What the fuck? Who the hell was gonna--?

‘There, you see? Look at him. You’ve ruined it.’

‘Sorry. It’s probably for the best that he’s thinking about it, though. Wouldn’t want him to make a poor decision while he’s too surprised to think clearly.’

‘As if I’d let him do that.’

‘Oho. Feeling protective of your prize-winning pony? Don’t want him to breed with any old donkey, eh?’

‘Of course.’

That was enough to bring Hector back into the conversation. “You guys are disgusting.”

“I think they’re kidding,” said Roman.

‘Of course we’re kidding,’ said Vorese. ‘Hector can fuck all the donkeys he wants. We don’t care.’

The conversation lasted until the end of the meal, and as was perhaps to be expected, there was considerably more shit talk than business talk. Roman and Voreese both kept trying to encourage him to do something about the Rainlords--what, exactly, remained unclear. The way they talked about it, they made it sound like they wanted him to trick the Rainlords somehow, but just as before, they kept saying that it would have to be a mutually beneficial relationship. Or something.

Hector didn’t really understand what they were trying to say, and he wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to, either.

After the meal, they went their separate ways again. Roman said that they would be sticking around Warrenhold for a while and that he also wanted to go with Hector to meet Leo again. Hector didn’t know if that last part was such a good idea, but he couldn’t think of a very good reason to refuse the man, nor did he particularly want to talk to Leo without any sort of backup again, either. Hector was still reluctant, however, and in the end, he told Roman that he wanted to think about it a bit more. Roman didn’t look like he appreciated that answer very much, but the man didn’t argue with him.

Of all the things on his to-do list, Hector knew that figuring out how to handle Leo was pretty much the top priority. Thankfully, he still had time, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about how catastrophically horrible things could become if negotiations with Leo broke down. Maybe it had been a mistake to direct him back to Atreya.

Agh. It was too late for regrets. That kind of thinking was useless at this point, he felt.

And it wasn’t like the situation was hopeless, either. Far from it. He already had a few ideas about how to approach the Leo problem, and he had a feeling that talking to the Queen would help clarify his thinking. He could hardly imagine what would come out of that conversation. After the mayhem in both Sair and the Undercrust, it now felt like a lifetime had transpired since his last encounter with the Queen.

Not to mention, he had no idea how she was going to react to everything that he had to tell her. He’d previously been concerned that she would simply be angry that he had brought so many fugitives from the Vanguard into her country, but now, a part of him was worried that she would take a stance similar to Roman regarding the Rainlords.

Would she see them as tools to be exploited? Or merely potential allies?

Too many unanswerable questions. He didn’t want to get lost in pointless worrying. He didn’t have time for that. He barely even had time for sleep.

It had been a long day of meetings, and now that it was over, he felt a different kind of exhausted. Not so much physical--though that was certainly there, too--but mental. He wondered if he’d talked more today than he had in any other day in his life. It seemed quite possible, but he was way too tired to devote any more brain power to the notion.

He was preparing for bed in his own room--properly preparing for it with silky pajamas and everything for the first time in ages--when a knock arrived at his door.

Garovel wasn’t immediately around to tell him who it was, and he had also removed the Scarf and lain it on the nightstand by his bed. Momentarily, he considered grabbing it and trying to discern the identity of the knocker thereby, but then he just shook his head and said, “Who is it?”

“Selena Cortes,” came a young and feminine voice.

Holy fucking shit, a girl was at the door to his bedroom.

“I don’t know if you remember me, Lord Goffe, or if I’m bothering you--ah, er--if I am, just tell me, and I’ll leave you alone.”

Unsurprisingly, Hector had no idea what to say. Should he even say anything? Should he open the door? Should he tell her to open the door? Should he cry to Garovel for help like a goddamn baby? He was unclear.

He heard Selena clear her throat.

“...Um,” she said, “I just wanted to thank you for saving me the way you did. And, um. To apologize for my behavior. And for my... ah... for... er...”

Maybe if he just sat here on the edge of the bed and didn’t move, she would forget he’d said anything and think the room was empty.

“...Well, um. Sorry. Again.” Her voice was fading a little, as if she were moving away from the door. “And thank you. Again. Uh... hmm...”

Hector waited. Hector listened.

After a while of persistent silence, he was fairly sure that she was gone. He decided to grab the Scarf and check.

Yeah. She was gone.

Phew.

He relaxed.

Then he realized how fucking pathetic that just was.

Aw, dammit. He definitely should’ve talked to her. That was super rude.

He sighed and laid down. He’d have to find her and try to talk to her tomorrow. Probably not to apologize, though. He felt like that would just make things even weirder, considering she only came here to thank him. But he could at least check in on her. He seemed to recall some weirdness with her reaper. It was all kind of a blur, though. Garovel would probably remember.

So many things to worry about. So many people to worry about. Somehow, he was feeling even more overwhelmed now than he had during any of the battles he’d been in recently.

That probably wasn’t normal, he figured.

Soon enough, he let his fatigue take over and fell asleep. Deep and dreamless.

It was not Garovel who awoke him, however.

“Get up, Hector.”

He opened his eyes to see the not wholly welcomed face of Zeff Elroy there at the foot of his bed.

“It’s time to train,” the Lord Elroy said.

What time was it? Ugh, actually, he didn’t even care. Garovel was the one in charge of his schedule, not Zeff, so Hector just rolled over and snuggled into his sheets. “No, it isn’t. Go away...”

“Hmph. I’ll give you this one warning. You can get up. Or I can douse you in ice water. Your choice.”

Hector groaned and sat up. “Are you training me to hate you? Because, if so, then...”

“Get dressed.”

“Fine...”

Hector dragged himself out of bed, threw on some light clothes that he didn’t mind getting destroyed, and followed Zeff downstairs. “Shouldn’t you be with your family, right now?”

“They’re resting.”

“You should be, too.”

“I am not tired.”

“Bullshit.”

Zeff paused in the middle of the stairs to throw him a look of disapproval.

Hector merely returned the man’s gaze flatly.

They continued on, all the way down into the main courtyard.

A few people lingered about, all familiar Rainlord faces, though Hector couldn’t have put names to pretty much any of them. Zeff led him to the edge of the courtyard--and then over the cliff and out onto the lake.

The Lord Elroy materialized a layer of ice over the lake for them to stand on. It was still clear enough for Hector to make out the sunken buildings below their feet, but it wasn’t cracking or feeling unstable at all.

It was pretty slippery, though, which Hector didn’t appreciate very much.

“Try adding spikes to your shoes,” Zeff advised him.

Good idea. Hector did so. He was a little worried that the spikes would weaken and destabilize the ice, but Zeff apparently wasn’t. And Hector supposed it wouldn’t be too big of a deal if they fell into the lake, either.

They ventured out rather far, until Hector nearly couldn’t make out the amber lights of Warrenhold’s main courtyard anymore.

“I believe I promised you an explanation the other day,” said Zeff after they’d come to a stop.

Hector tried to remember what he was referring to. “...For that trapping technique that Leo used.”

“Yes. Would you like to hear it now?”

“Ah--sure.”

“Very well. First, put one hundred cubes in orbit around yourself.”

Uh. One hundred? He’d never done that many, so he--

“Do not look so uncertain,” said Zeff. “After witnessing your battle with that worm, I am sure you can do it.”

“Er, alright...”

He focused. Orbital cubes. Dozens. He had the Scarf of Amordiin to help him sense all of them, so it was relatively easy to keep track. As the number climbed, though, he did notice it becoming more difficult.

No surprise there.

As instructed, he reached one hundred, and opened his eyes again.

Zeff was staring. “Remarkable... in Babbadelo, you could hardly keep thirty in orbit, and now, you can do this. How many times did you achieve emergence?”

“Uh...? Er, just once.”

“Hmm.”

Hector wondered if he should tell him about the Scarf. Obviously, emergence had played a role here, but much of this current feat was attributed to the Scarf, too, he knew.

Eh, Garovel had told him to keep it a secret, though. He supposed he shouldn’t--

“That scarf is special in some way, no?” said Zeff.

Well, shit.

“You have been wearing it ever since we left Himmekel. Is it somehow factoring into your ability to materialize?”

Hector kept his mouth shut. He wanted to just come clean, but he also wanted to do as Garovel had told him. He ended up just kind of clenching his jaw and waiting.

“...I see,” said Zeff, sounding calmer than Hector might have expected. “Yes. You would be wise to keep such information to yourself. Perhaps I would wish to take it from you, hmm?”

For a moment, Hector just stared at him. “...What makes you think one emergence wouldn’t be enough?” he said.

Zeff folded his arms. “While it is true that emergences can vary in power, there is generally considered to be a limit to how far one can go in a single leap.”

A limit, huh? Hector found that a little strange, considering emergence itself was all about superseding limitations.

“Now,” said Zeff, “the explanation of Leo’s trapping technique.”

Hector paid close attention.

“As I said before, it is extremely advanced, beyond even my own capabilities. This is because it requires a ‘reaction state.’”

“Is that what it sounds like?”

“More or less. The principle is essentially the same as that of applying velocity states. The added difficulty comes from the properties being applied. With velocity states, the application is simple. Comparatively. You apply a blanket speed to the materialized object, and that is all.”

“I’ve, uh... I’ve found that applying velocity states feels like giving my iron a command.”

“Is that so? Hmm. I suppose that makes a degree of sense.”

“It’s not really like covering it in a blanket or whatever...”

“I wasn’t saying that you should cover it in a blanket. That was merely a description of--agh, nevermind. The crux of the matter is applying a reaction state is essentially the same.”

“So... it’s only the ‘reaction’ part that’s different?”

“What?”

“I mean, you’re saying that applying the ‘state’ part is the same, so it’s the ‘reaction’ part that’s the problem.”

Zeff hesitated. “That is... one way of thinking about it, I suppose.”

Hector hoped he wasn’t misunderstanding something here. He also kinda wished Asad was here to help explain some of this. “So what is it about the ‘reaction’ part that makes it so much more difficult than the ‘velocity’ part?”

Zeff just kind of looked at him for a second, and Hector briefly wondered if the man was about to tell him that he was complete fucking moron or something. “...The reaction part, as you say, instigates a change in your material in accordance with a specified stimulus in the environment. In the case of Leo’s trap, that stimulus was pressure. The reason this is more difficult is because it is so much more complex than simply adding velocity.”

“Hmm.”

“And to make matters worse, it has been demonstrated that the scale of the challenge differential in the application of these higher states is exponential instead of linear.”

Hector’s brow lowered. “Ah... uh, w-what?”

Zeff opened his mouth, then closed it again, perhaps rethinking what he was about to say. He unfolded his arms, then refolded them. “In other words... ah... reaction states are unreasonably more difficult to apply than velocity or temperature states are. And the more complex the reaction, the more unreasonably difficult it becomes.”

“Oh. Uh. Okay...” Why hadn’t he just said that?

“I am not going to make you practice it--or even attempt it, for that matter.”

Hector nodded. That was fine. He kinda wanted to mess with it on his own, anyway. Assuming, of course, that he would ever be able to find the time to dick around with materialization again.

“Hmph. It seems these hundred cubes are not pushing you very hard.”

Oh, right, the cubes. He’d almost forgotten about them. Almost. They were still orbiting around him, all small enough that they didn’t obstruct his normal vision very much. He had relegated them to a background thought process while listening to Zeff’s explanation.

“Perhaps we should try increasing the volume,” said the Lord Elroy.

A thought occurred to Hector. Truthfully, it had occurred to him a while ago, and he’d been looking for an opportunity to bring it up. Now seemed like a good time, because he didn’t want to get lost in training and forget it later. “Ah--before that, there’s something I want to ask you. It’s about your, uh... your niece, I think? Selena Cortes?”

Zeff’s expression hardened. Somehow. “What about her?”

Aw, shit, maybe he was butting in where he shouldn’t. It might’ve been wiser to consult Garovel again before asking Zeff about it.

Well. Too late now.

“...Is she... ah... I mean, is she okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ah... Well, uh. Maybe it’s nothing, but I kinda got the impression that she and her reaper weren’t getting along.”

Zeff turned back toward Warrenhold, thinking.

Hector tried to recall why he’d gotten that impression. Oh yeah. “Garovel and I overheard her reaper yelling at her. Pretty harshly, too, I thought. But, er, I could be mistaken. I don’t really, uh...”

Zeff was looking at him like he was contemplating murder.

“...I don’t really know much about them,” Hector finished.

“What was said, exactly?” said Zeff.

“I... don’t remember. It happened during the fight after the train derailed. It was super chaotic. I’m sure the reaper had reason to be stressed out. I mean, we all did...”

“Garovel overheard it as well, you said?”

“Yeah.”

“Please call him over to us, then.”

Oh, boy. Hector did as the man asked, and it wasn’t much longer before Garovel joined them.

‘Ah, yes,’ the reaper said after Zeff asked him about it, ‘I have actually been looking into this matter, myself, though I have been trying to be discreet about it.’ He glanced at Hector.

“Mm,” said Zeff. “And have you learned anything?”

‘Your sister, Joana, mentioned that Selena has been having a rough go of it. I couldn’t get any details out of her without tipping my hand, unfortunately--’

“The girl has been suffering from depression,” said Zeff. “She has also...” He paused. “Well, suffice to say, she has indeed been having a rough go of it, as you said. What were the exact words that Ojarea used when you and Hector overheard her yelling at Selena?”

‘Her exact words to her were, “God, you’re so useless. I can’t believe I ended up with such a--” And that was it. I got the impression that the reaper hadn’t intended for us to hear even that much and so cut herself off before saying anything more. I could have been reading too much into it, though.’

Zeff glowered. “Thank you for informing me of this.” He eyed Hector again. “I’m afraid today’s training has been canceled. If you are free later in the day, I will make time for you.” He turned and started walking back toward the castle.

Hector and Garovel followed. “W-what are you planning to do?”

“Talk to my sister.”

‘Is that all?’ said Garovel.

“For the moment.”

‘Hmm. Well, if you do end up deciding to do anything drastic, I would advise you to talk to Axiolis about it first.’

“I do not need you to tell me that.” After a beat, he added, “However, I appreciate your desire to help. Thank you.”

The walk back to Warrenhold was a long and uncomfortable one.

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