บท 18: 3.8 Picking up the Pieces

Aria twirled in the middle of her- our room, her armored... dress? flaring and clinking as she then took our hands into hers. Her smile was sickeningly infectious as she led us deeper into the room.

"And this'll be your new workshop~"

My jaw dropped as she opened another door located a ways away from the large bed. Inside was a fully functioning forge, complete with any medieval tool I could ever imagine.

It was a smith's wet dream.

"It's so shiny!"

Lise, like a kid in a candy store, couldn't help herself as she frolicked around our would-be workspace. It was an endearing sight, a memory that I'd want to preserve for years to come.

"Glad to see little cutie appreciates my investments~"

As did I... My eyes wandered away from all the shiny new toys and towards my patron's supp-

No! This was my father's killer we were talking about here! What the hell was wrong with me?!

"We'll be sharing the bed, by the way~" My heart pounded as my thoughts struggled to process my conflicting thought processes, already too stunned to even register whatever the hell she just said. "It'd be a welcome bonding experience~"

I stood frozen as I felt myself being pulled back towards the main room.

"You'll be expected to work on demand, okay?~" the woman cooed. "Don't worry, I won't overwork you two too much~"

What was I thinking just now? Seriously, thinking one of my parents' murderers were hot?

"We understand, Dame," Lise replied in the background.

I felt the bile rise up in my chest just thinking about my own urges. Since when was it the time to start thinking with my second head?!

"Uhm... Rouge?~"

"Y-Yes?" I felt my cheeks flaring up against my will as the bvtch addressed me.

"You're my partner now," she smiled. "Is that okay?~"

"Y-Yes, ma'am..."

"Odd word choice, but I like the sound of it~" What? "I order the both of you to call me Ma'am from now on~"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Y-Yes, Ma'am."

*Clap!*

"Splendid!~ Do help yourself to a new pair of clothes~" La- Ma'am clapped her hands before moving towards the door. "I'll be off now~ See you later~"

The door closed on us as both Lise and I were left to our own devices. Seeing as she did insist on it, I made a beeline towards the surprisingly expansive wardrobe and plucked out a set of clothes for myself and my charge.

"Here you go, Lise," I handed her a modest dress suitable for her size. "Let's change out of our clothes."

I didn't even think twice as to why the blue bvtch even had something in my apprentice's size as I deftly replaced my torn clothes for a more complete and standard brown shirt and pants combo. Putting it on, it almost felt like the most expensive thing I've ever worn in my life. Never mind the fact that I was essentially in a woman's room... changing in the same room as my little sister...

Yeah, I probably should've changed in the smithing area. Still, at least Lise didn't seem to think much on my mistake.

"Big Bro," Lise grabbed my attention as she held the dress that I gave to her. "Should we really-"

"She offered," I nonchalantly threw out. "Might as well take her up on it."

"Okay..."

With a small flex, I studied myself in the mirror now available for us to use. My red hair was still matted with soot and grime, but it still flowed down towards my shoulder. My face was marred with black spots from the ashes of the forge, and my cheeks were somewhat hollowed from the lack of food intake these past few weeks. I raised a brow at my current state.

Could be better. But overall, this was what I honestly expected out of my ordeal.

My thoughts then flew back to those that we left behind down at the Furnace. It was inhumane for modern standards that we worked our ass off day and night, on top of living in sweltering heat twenty-four seven, all to get a chance at being fed a single piece of bread and water for the day. It screamed inefficiency and greed, and my OCD just couldn't handle the blatant waste of resources. Not to mention the child labor!

And did I mention child labor?

"Big Bro?"

Now that I wasn't constantly thinking about what we had to do to get something to eat, I could start planning for a way to get a revolution going. Perhaps introduce some basic engineering tech that any monkey could figure out? Or maybe share some actual basic medicinal care that worked? I knew enough to teach a class about physics, at least... I also had my bafflingly extensive knowledge about medicine back when I thought I was going to take up medicine. Or maybe-

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just thinking, Lise," I chuckled as I ruffled her hair in affection. "You can go sleep on the bed."

"But-"

Also, before I forgot, my parents' murderers. I could easily kill Aria in her sleep now since she insisted that we all sleep in the same bed. Barring the fact that it felt wrong seeing that I was guy, I didn't really care. The real problem would be her brother. Arjay, if I recalled. He was bound to show up eventually though, which left me the problem of how to tackle this particular conundrum.

I paced the room in contemplation, a hand on my chin as I weighed all the options I had on me.

It wouldn't be easy. But I guess... No. Too risky. Maybe... Or should I...

Hmmmm...

...

.....

"Laying low..."

My eyes widened as a flash of brilliance traveled through my head.

The long game.

Yes... That could work. If I recalled correctly, there was some form of discord between the two; a disagreement on the job. Plus, Aria seems to favor me a tad too much considering everyone else above my status treated me like dirt. There was something there...

I nodded my head in satisfaction as I found my new path forward. Ingratiate myself to my patron, no matter how sickening it may be. Then gather information that could be useful in the right circumstance. Hone my combat prowess seeing as apparently, nobody expected a Nenner like me to know how to fight. And finally, either stage a revolution or inject modern sensibilities to a backwards-thinking society.

I stared out at the midday forest behind the barracks as I hummed in approval of my own plans. It might not work, but at least I now had some sense of direction in this life.

God knows I didn't in my first one. Then again, one could argue that I was just unmotivated at the time. But at the very least, I actually had the knowledge necessary to make an impact on this world. It might be entirely focused on my interests and general expertise, but it'll be leagues better than living without indoor plumbing.

"I can make a change..."

Uplift an entire medieval state, all while being designated as a lowly common Nenner...

"Heh." Wordplay.

Sounded easy enough.

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