A few moments later, back inside our Private Quarters. It was funny seeing Angelica's shocked expression, seeing several members of Ouroboros arrive in our room.
"Well then, once again, these guys...might not be the nicest of people, but they are nonetheless part of a certain group I have gotten acquainted with over the years. This green-haired fellow especially was involved in my "rescue", bringing me back to Grancel Castle on that fateful day. You weren't around Angie, but it is when I was declared no longer missing to the general public.", I said, explaining the situation to the two.
"So these guys assisted you back then, huh?", Angelica said, seeing our table triple in size. "Him I get, but my danger sense is going off to the moon by just looking at this unkempt guy. Seriously, your scar is nasty.", Angelica said, still feeling weirded out seeing the Oathbreaker sitting across from her. The Golden Butterfly sat next to him on the right while Campanella sat in front of me, enjoying a cup of tea. Seeing him so casual like this also is somewhat creepy. I didn't think he'd actually be down to enjoy some downtime.
"Our role in the matter was minor. We simply dropped His Highness off at the time. He did the hard part by leaving that place. Since then, some things are in motion, but we've likewise had some time to check up on a few things. I cannot be privy to said details, but depending on His Highness's choice, he may be away again for some time.", Campanella said.
"You're...going out again?", Kloe replied, frowning.
"It's undecided still, but it's very possible.", I replied, nodding my head. "Emma is one thing, but it won't be like last time. Ennea and Ines will be here to act as my support."
"It is as Master says, Lady Klaudia, Lady Angelica. While it is a pleasure to either have reacquainted with you in this absence, or likewise, meet you for the first time, if Master decides to accept this mission, we will depart after the evening is over.", Ennea said to everyone.
"That's quite soon.", Angelica said, also showing a rare serious look in her eyes. Her earlier playful mood vanished entirely. She knows how to be serious when she needs to be.
"It is as Ennea said. Though if it is too much of a bother, once the rest head out for the evening, I can retreat into the city until it is time to depart.", Ines suggested. "I do apologize if we interrupted your evening."
"Nonsense!", Kloe immediately responded. "I think both Angie and I have gotten used to Naoto meeting...eccentric folks, regardless of them being nobles or not. You are but of many who have decided to pay a visit at Grancel Castle. You're no more less than they are. You are more than welcome to stay at one of our guest rooms. But from the sounds of it, your other friends won't be staying the night.", Kloe said, getting a look at the Ouroboros members beside her.
Kloe doesn't even know how dangerous these people are...
But I digress. If these guys wanted war, they would have already picked a fight long ago.
"Heh. Define 'friends'.", Harwood said, smirking at us. "If anything, we're more of a piece of shit family who happened to get together due to some extenuating...circumstances."
"True. Our backgrounds do vary quite a bit, I must add. Thank you for the tea as well, Your Highness. It is quite delicious.", Isselee said, revealing a smile behind her veiled mask. I'm pretty sure these guys are part of Daybreak's cast. I may not meet them after this for quite some time. We'll see if we cross paths again.
It was nice to hang around with them for the remainder of the evening. After we enjoyed our tea, I locked eyes with Harwood. It was well into the night now, and approaching bedtime.
"Anyways, you all aren't going to hang around here forever, right? Whatever Mr. Harwood wants to discuss, say so now.", I said.
"Fine, fine. Havin' such a nice chat was pleasant and all. It is as you have seen earlier, Your Highness. The group I left to its own devices decided to place a hit on one of us. Kreuger isn't around right now and is on active leave at the moment, but we've been keepin' in touch. Seriously, that Melchior should know better than to play around like this. He should focus on those new recruits instead.", Harwood said, explaining the situation.
New recruits to The Gardens? Is the Oathbreaker referring to those two I thought of? They go by Nadia Rayne and Swin Abel. They should be quite young, but The Gardens recruit kids at a very early age. And this name, Melchior. It sounds familiar too...
"I see. Who is Melchior?", I decided to ask, not too familiar with the name. And trust me, I know a lot of people.
"I was gettin' to that part. Know the piece of shit family we're a part of? He came with us. What's done is done, but he's the one holdin' the reins over The Gardens, amongst other folks. And this is the thanks I get for placin' him in charge. Go figure.", Harwood said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Melchior is one of The Gardens' leaders?", I said, frowning. As far as I'm aware, these guys are assassins through and through. The people in front of me too, but Kloe and Angelica don't need to know that part.
"What is this Garden business? I'm not familiar with the name.", Angelica asked, having no clue what we were talking about. I wonder, how much should I say, exactly?
"Let me put it this way, Angie. These guys, like I said, are part of a certain network. You know how nobles act when they want something, they sometimes use any means necessary, right?", I asked Angelica.
"I think I get it. You must be one of those sketchy groups having some infighting or something else along those lines?", Angelica replied, attempting to see the bigger picture.
"More or less. We go to whatever place we're interestin' in. But in order to do that, we all need to be on the same page. That clearly isn't happenin' right now. Therein lies the mission assigned to you, Your Highness. I'm not askin' you to take anyone out, just to stop the attack from developin' into something worse.", Harwood said.
"I'm to stop whatever incoming attack is being sent by The Gardens, huh? I think that's manageable. Do you happen to know who?", I asked. "I doubt this Melchior will go in person."
"You assume right, Your Highness. He is sending out one of the Gardens in his stead. He's probably too cooped up training new recruits to bother heading out himself. As to which one, it is the Garden of Swords.", Harwood said, grinning at me.
"The Oath---ahem, Mr. Harwood is indeed correct, Your Highness. Have a look.", Campanella said, snapping his fingers once again. Similar to last time, a life-like illusion appeared on the table.
"This...", Kloe uttered, seeing a man appear in the illusion before us. It wasn't just him either, a second figure soon followed. She appeared to be a woman with short and curly lavender hair. As for the man, he seemed to be younger, and sported messy brown hair. His eyes were completely hidden away by a black mask, hiding most of his face. A gigantic broadsword hung open on his back. His hair was just as messy as Crow's hair was.
"The man you see present here is the One of Swords. A name he had long since thrown out the door, Ace Rayne. He will be launching an attack on the woman you see next to him. Kreuger.", Campanella said, giving the rundown to us. "It is as Mr. Harwood said. You needn't kill the guy. The Gardens would lose a really good piece and would have to spend some time recovering. That said, we wouldn't interfere should he lose his life during the clash.", Campanella said, also grinning at me.
"So the choice is left to me to do as I see fit with the guy. Pretty much a kill or be killed mission, even if it doesn't lead to that. I don't have to exactly kill him.", I mused, seeing Ace Rayne before me.
Ace might be considered a background character to most, but he serves an important role of being Nadia's older brother. More than likely, both Nadia and Swin are in The Gardens, being trained as assassins. They're still quite young though, I don't think I will see them in this encounter.
"You don't. But likewise, we'll turn a blind eye just in case you do want to get wild~", Campanella said with a playful smile. "All that we really care about is making sure Kreuger lives through this. Granted, she is strong in her own right, but even with someone of her caliber, it is suicide going up a group like The Gardens.", Campanella said, shrugging his shoulders.
As he said that, Campanella did a twist of his hand, and the illusion before us vanished. To me, this mission was clear. If I want to continue cooperating with Ouroboros, I'll need to accept it. And I also have the option of turning it down. They'll just send another mission my way that isn't this one.
"Are you sure you're up for doing this, Naoto? I know the strength you hold. While I can't exactly trust these "friends" of yours, they're putting your best interests up front, right?", Kloe asked me, still doubtful after hearing all of this.
"Yeah. You can rest assured these guys mean business. And if I do head out, Mr. Harwood here will owe me a favor. Isn't that right?", I said, smirking back at the man.
"Touché. Granted, it was my own doing to let this happen. I have to resort to outside help. If my other "children" saw me come out to play, they would likely turn tail and run~", Harwood said, matching my energy.
"Heh.", I replied, and laughed. After laughing, I turned to look at Campanella again, having one final question. "Let's say the worst comes to happen. I really don't have to kill the guy, right?"
"You don't. On that part, I promise you.", Campanella answered, being honest for once. That's good. Guy Bannings was my next course of action and I've been debating whether or not to save him, but in the games, this Ace Rayne guy ends up dying before Nadia and Swin leave The Gardens for good. The thought completely slipped my mind, but Ace definitely has potential.
I might wind up "saving" Ace. We'll see.
"Anyway, I think that's all fun and games, but it's about time we hit the road. Ines is more than welcome to stay with you for the night, Your Highness. I take it you have your answer.", Campanella continued.
"I don't see an issue. We'll depart the morning of. Thank you for spending some time with us tonight. You can send my regards to you-know-who.", I said, smiling back at Ouroboros.
"It indeed was a pleasant evening if I do say so myself. We'll be off then.", The Golden Butterfly said.
"Catch ya around, prince. Dependin' on what you decide on doin' in the future, we may cross paths again.", Harwood said, standing up. He proceeded to shove his hands into his pockets, acting all casual. We just talked about something heavy, and you shrugged it off like that!
"Haha.", Campanella said, also standing up. "But with that ladies and gentlemen, it is time for the curtain call. I bid you all adieu for now. I look forward to the good news. And to reward you right away, you-know-who might be paying you a visit soon~", Campanella continued. "She has finished her training and is now undergoing work as an Enforcer."
Hearing that, my eyes lit up. Renne finished what she was assigned to do, and successfully became Enforcer No. XV, the Angel of Slaughter? Nice!
Seeing these guys wander off toward the direction they came from, the Golden Butterfly waved at us, and I waved back. Before long, we were left to our own devices, with a new addition in tow. Ines.
"Campanella really is an enigma, isn't he?", I asked.
"Even I don't know what goes on inside that man's head. But I don't ask about it.", Ines replied, then looked at me. "Thank you for the offer too. It's quite late now. What would you like to do?"
"I'll inform Grandmother to let you stay inside one of the guest rooms. Pardon me.", Kloe said, immediately departing from our Private Quarters before we could do anything.
"Hehe. Now that's the girl I remember. Always looking out for you, Master.", Ennea said, giggling.
"Takes one to know one. We sure have a lot to catch up on, don't we, miss second girlfriend?", Angelica said, returning to her playful nature and acting as if nothing happened.
"Oh my. I am not one to tread on our ranks. We'll be working for quite some time in the future~", Ennea teased, clapping her hands together.
"Don't drag me into this...", Ines retorted, and sighed. "You can keep this "Royal Harem" of yours, or whatever it is called, Your Highness. I'm leaving. I'll make sure to be ready when we depart."
"Haha. Just don't lurk around too far. Wait for Kloe to guide you.", I happily replied.
"Mmm.", Ines said, and soon left where Kloe wandered off to.
It was just Angelica, Ennea and I now. It didn't take long for Kloe to return toward our room after making sure Ines all got squared away.
This sure was a reunion all right. Ennea is back. She's now met Angelica, and the two are happily enjoying their newfound relationships with me. Kloe simply shrugged Ennea's playing aside, and we all got washed up, ready for dreamland.
I made sure to get the best seat in the house. Angelica was on my right with Ennea on my left, and we all fell fast asleep in each other's arms~
Meanwhile, a different scene could be seen taking place further away from Grancel Castle. The next morning came, and a certain trio happened to wander into its sewers. It was a black-haired boy, a brown-haired girl whose hair was tied into twintails, and a sun-kissed woman who seemed to be guiding the two throughout the lower level of Grancel. Ahh, the classic sewer dungeon.
"Are you sure we aren't lost, Schera? I've already smashed the vases around here!", Estelle complained, seeing several bits of broken glass still on the ground.
"You haven't even looked at your map once, Estelle.", Joshua said, retorting to her.
"Hehe, the moment Estelle decides to use a map is when I'll retire as a Bracer. We sure did one full lap around the sewers. You kids sure have a lot of energy to spare. I think we can go for one or two more laps and hunt more monsters around here. I brought you two in to gain practical experience, but there are still some ways off before you take the Bracer Exam. I'll just point out one thing for now.", The woman beside the two said, who was of course, Scherazard Harvey, the Silver Streak.
"Oh, and what would that be?", Estelle asked, intrigued.
"Don't smash every vase you see around here, Estelle. You're troubling His Highness by doing so. It's still technically considered property of Her Majesty.", Scherazard said, teasing Estelle.
"Hey! It ain't our fault that Mira somehow finds itself tucked away inside each one. They're just asking to be smashed, you know?", Estelle replied, sticking her tongue out. "It's better than finding some dirty old treasure chest that's likely been looted already."
"I'm tempted to agree with Estelle on this one, Schera. Treasure chest spawns are all at random. Plus we don't know whether or not other people have been down here. It's all luck. The vases, however, people tend to mostly ignore.", Joshua said. trying to make it sound coherent.
"Even you, Joshua?", Scherazard said, and sighed. "Seriously, what has been Cassius been teaching you two these days?"
"I mean, nothing bad has happened so far, right? Just go with the flow, as one would say!", Estelle happily said. "Come on. The day's just begun. There's plenty of monsters still lurking waiting to get their asses beat by yours truly!"
Estelle puffed her chest out in pride after saying that. Hearing this only caused Joshua to sigh.
"There's no hope with you, is there, Estelle? Just try not to get lost again, alright?", Joshua asked, and sighed.
"Hehehe.", Scherazard giggled, seeing the two like this. "We've plenty of time to spare. How about this, the next fight, I won't assist you two. You'll be on your own."
"Fine by me!", Estelle happily responded.
"Hmm. That would count as good experience. I'm in.", Joshua said, nodding his head too.
Just like that the trio made their way deeper inside Grancel Sewers, fighting monster after monster, blissfully unaware of what took place inside Grancel Castle the night prior.
But as for me...