Chapter 24: Treachery and Talking
Tanya opened her eyes, and yawned. A bright new day had dawned, and things were…
Well, they weren't exactly progressing. They were stuck in this town until she found a way to ensure new Reincarnates didn't try to kill her anymore, and with the presence of one of the Demon King's Generals, monsters were becoming less and less common.
Thanks to that General, her growth had nearly frozen, and unless they were able to find more Tranquility Girls, they wouldn't be doing much growth until the General left or until the Capital got enough soldiers to send some to Axel.
"Good morning, Viktoriya!" Tanya called out, jumping from her bed. She expected a prompt reply – neither of them had been able to shake the light sleep most soldiers were forced to take – but no sound came from the girl.
She sighed and shook her head playfully. "Sleeping in? We didn't even do that much yesterday…"
Tanya trailed off, her eyes suddenly glued to the window. Outside, a bird was frozen in flight. And not literally frozen, as in caked in a layer of ice or encased in an ice cube, which was probably possible in this weird world.
Rather, it wasn't moving.
"Being X," she grit out. It seemed he'd decided to come and try to taunt her once more. She would start by taunting him for timing this to coincide with a bird's taking flight-
She expected to hear the voice come from the bird, but Tanya inhaled sharply as a voice came from her right instead.
"Atheist."
A sickly sweet voice exited Viktoriya's mouth, who was now sitting up on the bed.
Tanya felt her world begin to shake as she turned towards her right stiffly. That thing dared…!
Unaware or uncaring, the thing spoke. "I am quite upset with you, young lady. You've been clipping the wings of my harbingers, and-"
"Fuck off, you piece of shit."
The thing wearing Viktoriya's body seemed surprised, and Tanya pushed forward. "Get out! You've proven your insistence on torturing me in some sort of attempt to get me to convert, and at this point, your inability to admit defeat is changing from pride to insanity. But that doesn't fucking matter."
"For some reason – her past, the world she was raised in, whatever the hell it is – Viktoriya still believes in god after slogging through eight years of hell. If you lay so much as a speck of mana on her for no other reason than her association with me, I'll-"
The thing smirked cruelly, and Tanya almost verbally whimpered at seeing it directed at her. "You'll what? You wouldn't dare touch your precious Visha. Or… do you even care about her?"
Tanya moved a shaking hand towards her pistol, but it continued talking. "Yes, you probably only see her as a resource, available to take a bullet for you. She's also quite nice looking, yes?"
With that, the thing controlling her friend used her arms and hands to fondle her. Tanya looked away, blushed, and then shook her head violently. She might not be able to do much, but she didn't doubt that it might try and hurt Viktoriya.
Tanya let out a little laugh. It was time to go on the offensive. "Maybe, when I eradicate that Demon King, I'll probably have figured out a proper way for you to be killed. First, you'll get the honor of experiencing every injustice ever delivered on so-called non-believers. Then-"
It cut her off again, and Tanya's anger only continued to mount as it used Viktoriya's voice. "Say what you wish, my lost lamb. I am here to inform you that we won't be reincarnating anyone else until you leave this town permanently."
Tanya paused, somewhat confused. He'd never shown anything that even resembled leniency when it came to her, and this might resemble that, in a skewed sort of way.
It elaborated. "You're causing too much damage, so we'll just wait until you leave. If you desire to wait around here for another of our Reincarnates to defeat the Demon King, then be our guest."
It gave her one last parting smirk. With that, the sound of a bird's flapping wings reached her ears, and Viktoriya's head lolled to the side. Tanya leapt on her.
Tanya took a deep, shuddering breath as she laid her head against her shoulder and straddled Viktoriya's lap. Then, she backed up, staring her in the eyes. "Viktoriya, are you alright?"
Her eyes fluttered, and she stared down at Tanya. "Huh…? Tanya, what…"
She never finished her thought, as she looked down at Tanya straddling her lap and blushed. Tanya immediately jumped off of her – that was not appropriate, in any way – even as she continued to talk.
"It was Being X! He possessed you."
Viktoriya looked shocked, and Tanya explained to her what had happened. How… not like her it had been, to speak that way, to smirk at her like that, to… do such a provocative thing.
She seemed like she wanted to wave it off, and Tanya thought, for a moment, that she would declare Tanya crazy, and that she would have to go back to hiding her true thoughts – and why did that idea seem so painful, now that she'd already revealed everything? – but Viktoriya did look up and give her one of her patented disarming smiles.
"Alright. Is there anything we can do about it?"
Tanya's anger, so ready to lash out thanks to Being X, drained from her. Her gaze drifted downwards, towards Viktoriya's pajamas and the space that separated them. "Not that I know of…"
Her head jerked back up. "Wiz might! With everything else this world has, there might be some sort of thing that can break spells or block that kind of attack!"
"I'll never have to listen to another of his rants again!" she said with a smile on her face.
Viktoriya smiled warmly. "Wonderful. Could you leave?"
Tanya nodded absently, leaving the room to allow Viktoriya to dress. She walked into the hallway, wondering how many potions she would have to buy to get another spell, one that might dispel any of Being X's attempts at conversation.
"Hey, Tanya. I didn't know you slept here," came a voice from down the hallway. She turned.
Dust, hair ruffled and eyes bleary, was staring at her confusedly. She shrugged. "Those Tranquility Girls pay well, and we wanted to stay somewhere."
Dust was confused. Tanya was a noble, right? Why was she staying here?
He shrugged, guessing that she was really trying to seem like an adventurer.
He furrowed his brow. He remembered something about Tanya and trying to seem a different way…
He shook his head and dismissed the thought, instead wondering how long he could get thrown in jail for, since his plan with the Head of the Police hadn't worked out. Then the rest of her sentence registered in his mind. "Wait, we?"
The door opened up behind her, and Tanya went into the room, preparing to dress. Dust, meanwhile, was staring at who had walked out of the room.
A verifiable beauty had walked out of the room.
Tanya was cute; and, in time, she was likely to look beautiful, if she ate well. It was inevitable with nobles.
Dust wasn't a lolicon, however, and Tanya's bright golden hair reminded him too much of his history. This girl, on the other hand…
Well, she looked a bit old, but that didn't matter in the face of her other attributes. Namely, a very nice looking body.
Imagining the things he could do to her, Dust smirked. He was about to try the oldest trick he knew – pretend they'd hurt him so they'd treat him to a meal – when he remembered that she felt comfortable sleeping in the same room as Tanya.
Just as he was weighing his options, the aforementioned person came out of her room, dressed as always. She looked at her friend, and then followed her gaze to Dust. She smirked.
She flashed him a wide grin, and Dust sighed. That meant she was going to want lessons. "Yes, Tanya?" he asked grudgingly.
She shook her head, amused, and clapped the man on his shoulder. Not easy with their comparative heights, but she managed to convey some friendliness. "Don't sound so glum, Dust! You have two students today, after all."
He perked up, looking again at Tanya's friend. She smiled, and he finally saw the weird staff-spear strapped to her back, just like Tanya's. He smirked, stood tall, and prepared himself. He wanted to get his money's worth, after all.
Tanya beat him to the punch, however. "Yeah, yeah. We'll pay for the lesson, of course. With so few monsters, it's expected that you'd be more money grubbing than usual," she said, waving a hand flippantly and walking down the stairs towards the reception room, followed by her friend.
He sighed angrily. It wasn't like he wanted to be broke – indeed, he'd rather be able to pay for his drinks and not worry about his tab more than usual – but even if he felt like doing honest work, there wasn't much to be had.
With a Demon King's General so close by, monsters just weren't coming out, and the guild favored weaker and newer adventurers if there was any easy work, like carrying luggage or clearing away Crows.
The sound of Tanya's voice marched up the stairs, demanding him to follow, and, realizing he'd spent a bit too much time thinking about his present situation without alcohol in his system, Dust made his way down.
As per usual, Dust brought Tanya to the dump. There weren't exactly many places people could train inside the city without being seen, and during those first few lessons, when Dust had been paying her back, he'd hoped the smell would drive her off.
Oddly enough, neither seemed particularly burdened by the smell of rotting garbage.
While he led them between heaps of trash, picking out the occasionally interesting piece of not-quite-garbage and pocketing it, Tanya spoke to Viktoriya in hushed whispers.
"The smell is bad, but it has nothing on the trenches. Despite his outward appearance of being a degenerate, he's quite good with a spear," she said as Dust hollered and lifted up an entire chair whose only problem was a dark stain on it.
Viktoriya tilted her head. "Why do we even need to learn how to use a spear?"
Tanya sighed. "As I told you before, this world doesn't have personal Flight spells like we do. As such, no one thinks such a thing is possible. We want to keep it as a kind of last resort or strategic asset, in case we run into something really powerful, and knowing how to use a bladed weapon well will give us a veneer of being a normal job," she explained.
"But isn't the rest of our magic suspect?" she asked. Tanya made a noncommittal noise of assent.
"If they found out the specifics, yes. However, they have one magic system, and they've had it for who knows how long. They don't think another system of magic is possible. Subsequently, they'll write of anything we do as their magic, if we aren't too obvious about it."
Further conversation was stopped by Dust as they arrived near the center of the dump. Most people couldn't stand the smell, and just left their trash near the borders. They had been able to set up a small clearing in the center, hidden by walls of trash.
Dust turned around, giving Tanya a quick glance. He then turned his full attention towards her friend. "You gonna introduce us?" he asked blandly, schemes for a free meal already spinning in his head.
Every Eris he saved on food was another one he could spend on alcohol, and while he didn't think she was weak by any means – anyone who associated with Tanya seemed to be either strong or weird, if the crowd of dark-haired people accosting them yesterday and her companions were anything to go by – he was sure he could get something out of her.
Tanya smiled. "Yes, this is Viktoriya. This'll be her only lesson with you – she just needs you to teach her the Spearmanship skill – since anything you teach me I can teach her."
Dust frowned at that. "Hey, I don't think that's very fair. Shouldn't she decide who she wants to learn from?"
"I choose Tanya."
Tanya smirked, and Dust stared at the twenty-something woman. He opened his mouth. "You know, you're going to waste away on a shelf forever if you don't try and get to know people."
Dust expected anger from the woman. She was twenty-something, and no one had thought to marry her in the years since she turned fourteen. That had to be insulting. "At this point, you should be thankful that someone even shows interest in you."
Instead of the expected anger, she only tilted her head in confusion. Tanya, on the other hand, was very angry. She muttered to Viktoriya about the different culture here, and how adulthood was at fourteen, in their private language. She nodded her head in understanding, and she simply shrugged at Dust.
Dust, annoyed about her lack of reaction, opened his mouth again. But Tanya spoke up, voice low, before he could.
"I would like to inform you, Dust: I bought all of your debt over a week ago."
Now, he tilted his head, staring at her with only a small iota of understanding on his face. "What do you mean?"
Tanya grinned, and began to advance on Dust. "Well, that means I found every single person or business you owed money to, and I paid off your debts. I gave them contracts, and I am the sole owner of your debt."
He seemed worried, and Tanya continued. He wasn't scared yet. "That means that you now owe me 300,000 Eris, and I will be charging you interest," she explained. Horror had dawned on his face, and Tanya stared up into his red eyes.
"So I suggest you begin teaching us, because the more you teach us, the less money you'll owe me. Understand?"
He glared at her. "You really are 'Tanya the Evil'…"
She waved him off. "Oh please. I've been called a devil. Just 'Tanya the Evil' seems to be a step down," she said, moving towards a particular pile of trash and handing him the spear that he trained her with.
"Now, start teaching!" she shouted. Dust complied, aware that she might increase his interest if he tried any funny business where she could see him.
He smirked internally.
Over two months ago, Keith introduced him to the Succubi's shop as an apology to losing to Tanya in an arm wrestling contest. He'd made ample use of it since then, and he would be doing so tonight.
He knew just how to get revenge on her; He might have been very drunk, but he remembered that the Succubi were looking for her. She'd probably done something evil to them, just like the Tranquility Girls.
He knew just where they could find her, considering he slept just down the hall from them.
-OxOxO-
Tanya left the dump satisfied. Buying up his debt and motivating him with threats of increased interest had done wonders for his usually lackluster teaching skills. Now, it was nearly midday.
The pair of women walked through the streets of Axel, enjoying the carefree atmosphere. Compared to their own nation, it would have been impossible to find a town this big that wasn't geared towards the war.
They enjoyed it. Or Tanya did, anyway. Viktoriya was thinking.
Tanya noticed, of course, but said nothing. If her adjutant wanted to think, Tanya would let her. They spent another few minutes this way, and then Viktoriya spoke up.
"Tanya… you said that in your world, people weren't all that interested in religion, and only the very religious allowed it to dominate their lives, right?"
Tanya nodded. "Yep. Most were nominally of one faith or another, but they did little to practice it. I can intellectually understand why Being X was mad if he thought they were all supposed to be praying to him, but I just laugh at his misfortune these days," she said, kicking a stray rock down the road. "Why do you ask?"
Viktoriya shrugged. "Well… you might be against it, but you're more… fervent about your hatred than most of the people in your world were about their love for it, right?"
Tanya nodded, kicking the rock again and wondering where she was going with this.
Keeping her tone as even as she could, Viktoriya continued. "If you're allowing you're hatred for him to dominate your life, aren't you exactly like those people in your world?"
The rock Tanya had been kicking was sent flying down the street, breaking a distant window. Tanya was frozen.
Twitch. Twitch.
Viktoriya continued on walking and talking, tapping a finger against her chin. "Yeah. If you're revolving your life around religion, even if it is hatred of it, then you're just like a person who's totally devoted."
Viktoriya blinked as Tanya's footsteps failed to sound next to her, and she turned around to see Tanya.
She was staring down at the ground, right eye twitching in time with that odd strand of her hair that everyone knew about and said nothing of. She was staring down at her shaking hands.
"Uhh… Tanya?" asked Viktoriya hesitantly. The woman said nothing, choosing instead to stare down at her hands, shaking her head from side to side. The faint mutterings of "IamnotIamnotIamnot" could be heard if one strained their ears.
Viktoriya winced, and loudly declared, "We're going to go to the guild now, alright?"
Tanya nodded her head minutely, and then continued to shake her head and mutter. Viktoriya walked in front of the pair, but she had the distinct impression Tanya was just letting her feet take her to the guild.
Viktoriya frowned. Why did she always have to go and say something stupid? She had been lucky last time, when she'd tried to confess and Tanya had gracefully given her an out after making her preferences clear.
She sighed sadly. Maybe one day she wouldn't nearly ruin everything by opening her mouth.
-OxOxO-
They arrived at the guild soon after, quietly pushing open the doors and silently sliding into the seats at their table. Chris and Darkness looked up, surprised to see them.
Chris had assumed they'd be doing something nefarious, like taking potshots at the local orphanage with spells or planning to sacrifice babies for fun or something. Darkness had assumed Tanya was residing in whichever mansion her family controlled, avoiding the relatively destitute adventurers.
Tanya actually said nothing, just staring at the table and going over what Viktoriya had said. After a silent, painful minute, Viktoriya ordered for them, not having the heart to say anything else to Tanya. The waitress's response confused Viktoriya, and she couldn't help but ask "What do you mean, you don't have that?"
The waitress shrugged. "With the lack of quests, all of the farm work for this summer has already been completed. There's no more food to be harvested until the migrating vegetables come through, and no more monsters means that we can't get any experience loaded food."
Viktoriya sighed, sparing a glance at Tanya, who hadn't reacted to the news at all. "What do you have?"
"Bread and water," she said. Viktoriya stared at her incomprehensibly. The waitress gave her a what-do-you-expect-me-to-do-about-it look, and Viktoriya just nodded her head.
As she left, Viktoriya stared at Darkness.
"I saw tons of good food in the market. Why don't they just go get food?" she asked.
The Crusader perked up, happy to be of help, but still slightly wary of the new addition. "Well, the guild usually gets all of its food from donations from farmers and 'donations' from merchants, and the rest of it from quests. With most of the work done, they can't donate anymore, and the guild isn't used to shelling out money to buy provisions. That takes time to do."
Viktoriya just stared glumly at the table, wondering how to get Tanya to perk up. Then an idea came to her. "Why don't we go on a quest?"
Tanya had complained that they didn't have the experience to learn that Paralyze spell, since it cost ten Skill Points. Maybe getting those points would help her out?
Darkness lit up, while Chris seemed thoughtful. Tanya didn't react.
Darkness jumped to her feet, and ran over to the board. Viktoriya just patted Tanya's back, hoping this would work snap her out of her funk.
Darkness brought over many. Viktoriya rejected most of them, seeing as she wasn't exactly sure of the relative strengths of the monsters. A Manticore and Griffon sounded strong, and if they were closing off portions of the mountain, they must be.
She settled for the Rookie Killer extermination quest. Instead of asking for people to take on Goblins and to look out for Rookie Killers, it specified that they should kill a Rookie Killer.
The danger of seeking one out was apparently implicit, but Darkness was thrilled and Viktoriya, after a brief explanation from Darkness, felt they could take it on, with Darkness in front and their Flight spells in case of emergencies.
Then Chris spoke up. "I've got an idea. We want to end the shortage of monsters, right? Why don't we try and take on the Demon King's General?" she suggested.
Darkness's face burst into crimson, and Viktoriya began to think. A Demon King's General sounded like a strong monster, if it could cause a shortage of other monsters.
And hadn't Tanya said something about wanting to check out her options in relation to that entity? She'd worded it in a roundabout way, but she had said she would switch sides if Belzerg was going to lose.
"Do you know anything about him?" she asked Darkness.
Chris spoke up, this time. "He's a Dullahan. They're pretty strong undead that have an unattached head. They can control tons of undead, and have very strong physical attributes."
Viktoriya's face lit up. If it had a bunch of weaker enemies, then they could just take those on, if their leader was too powerful too beat, in which case, they'd retreat after destroying some of them. If they could, though, they'd beat them into the ground.
Viktoriya smiled triumphantly. "Okay! That seems like a good idea!"
With that, they left. Viktoriya didn't know better, and Darkness was too enamored with the idea of getting abused by an undead to care about the probable difference in skill.
Chris knew, but that was precisely the reason she'd suggested it.
And Tanya was just following them around, much too concerned with her identity crisis – she wasn't obsessed with religion, she wasn't!
Had they consulted with Luna, Viktoriya would have realized what a bad idea this was, especially with Tanya so out of sorts.
As it was, Chris was wondering if she should give those weapons back to the Reincarnates after all. It seemed she'd do a good job of killing them herself.
-OxOxO-
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