Chapter 20: Backtracked

They left the cafe and headed for a general adventuring store, just a 5-minute walk away, towards a cluster of artisan and craftsman shops; the only thing taller than the Knight HQ was the blacksmith's chimney smoke—pretty hard to get lost around here that way.

"Wouldn't that be expensive?" Kalender asked.

"It will be Page's equipment. Obviously, she will be the one paying for it," Jyn replied. Page chuckled and scratched her cheek.

"Still, you really are a noble, huh?" Kalender said. Page fidgeted at the mention.

"Ah, well, I'm really just an insignificant 5th daughter of the 7th mother of a branch family of the Turners—ah! It's not like we're treated badly!" She waved her hands. "For someone of my station, I've already done well becoming a Librarian."

"Huh. What do your parents do?" Kalender asked.

"Huh? All of them, or…"

All of them? "No no, just your actual mom and dad—actually, wait, what do you mean 'all of them'?"

"Ah, well, including my biological mother, I have nine mothers. Is that … weird?"

"Nothing like that! I just don't come from a place where we have more than two parents." He let out a nervous chuckle. "I don't think I'll ever get used to polygamy being the norm here."

"I see, you're the weird one here. That's strangely assuring… About what my parents do, my blood mother is an archivist at Castle Violentum, while my father is the lord of a small township near Violentum, a place called Poette."

Violentum? Ah, Jyn mentioned that before. That's Lyrica's capital, I think.

"Poette? A quarter of the capital's foodstock moves through there. I did not think you were the daughter of such an important lord," Jyn added.

"Ehh, the daughter herself isn't that important, though. Most of my elder sisters are a lot more accomplished than me. I'm really just the normal one."

"Hm? How many siblings do you have?" Kalender asked.

"Hrmm, last time I checked—thirty two?"

"Thirty two?!" W-well, if she has nine moms, then each one having three to four kids—seems normal?

"I know it's kinda a lot—" No, girl, that's a lot! "—even compared to other nobles. Dad made it a point to show how stressful being a land-owning lord is, though, so only my sisters Chat and Sienne are interested in inheriting his position."

"How does that work? Inheritance, I mean. It sounds like a hassle if there's t-thirty three of you, still, wow, that's really a lot…"

"Traditionally, the eldest gets first pick, but legally, the registry just needs a few documents. There's nothing in the law about respecting birth order, so as long as the document fulfills the main requirements, it's all fine."

Sometimes I forget bureaucracy exists for as long as paper does…

"We're almost there," Jyn interrupted. "We haven't discussed what equipment would suit Page, nor even her role in a fight."

It was a bad idea not to utilize Page's above-average MP, but it was also equally bad to put her in the back line and babysit her as a frail mage—with their current number, they couldn't afford for anyone to slack.

Of course, Jyn trained Page to use a quarterstaff, so they were definitely getting one. It's just that quarterstaves didn't typically come with magic circles on them for ranged attack use—

"Ah." Jyn eyed Kalender. He smiled and waved hello.

The store was coming up. It was a single-floor wooden building, with little else to distinguish it from its neighbors other than a sign hanging from the wall, depicting a sword and staff crossed together. If you looked through the window, you'd have already seen everything. There were a whole of two customers perusing swords and shields—it must've been a quiet hour for the store. It was still mid-afternoon, so most adventuring parties would still be out in the field.

"Come on. Let's go in." Jyn said. The door was left wide open, so she stepped in.

"Not so fast."

Jyn just had one foot through the door. She and the others turned around to take in the source of the declaration: a maid. Jyn knew she shouldn't relax her guard, and prepared herself to step into any assault—body facing straight, feet planted solidly. The maid merely chuckled, as if seeing a cute child play soldier.

"Librarian Page—or should I say, Miss Page," she said. Her expression resumed an air of seriousness. "Your father requests your presence at the earliest convenience."

"Maid Sherry!" This woman was constantly behind her father's shoulder, at least in the few times she'd seen her father at all—but if she never left his side, then… "What are you doing here!"

Seeing that Page was familiar with the new face, Jyn stayed herself. There wasn't much she could've done, anyway—the level difference between herself and the Maid was just too wide. Could she be … that kind of maid?

"I have come to collect you," Sherry replied. "Your father has heard the news—"

Page stiffened. A Lord of a small township her father may just be, he still had his own information networks. Something like keeping tabs on Page's employment status would have been easy—but what if he actually has a 'mom' friend, and he's heard I've been charmed!

"—You are no longer a Librarian. He urges you to return home."

Page relaxed. He didn't figure out I was charmed. Nice.

Sherry didn't miss this oddity. She'd expected Page to be more downcast. There was something else going on here.

She eyed the man with Page.

"Gasp. Don't tell me—you've married without your father's knowledge?!"

The not-married not-couple paused, parsed, and panicked.

""We're not like that!""

"I see, it's that case," Sherry replied. "In that case, it is not too late. We can sweep things under the rug. Your father does not have to know."

What lascivious scenarios was the Maid conjuring? Not just her Level, but also her level of thinking was just too advanced.

"Greetings." Jyn walked up beside the couple. "My name is Knight Jyn."

"I see. I am Maid Sherry, Miss Page's guardian and retainer of Lord Turner of Poette." She eyed the knight, and then the two. "Do you have a relation with these two?"

"Kalender and I arrived here together. We got to know Miss Turner some days ago."

"I see." Sherry faced Page. "Then? Let us be off. If you still need some days to prepare, some days can be spared—"

"Maid Sherry," Jyn called again. The harsh tone made Sherry rethink her policy. Jyn continued, speaking in an almost-whisper, "In the most direct manner of speaking, Miss Turner has been co-opted by the Inquisition to join our group."

Sherry didn't flinch. "They did? I see. How am I to believe you?"

Jyn eyed Kalender, and he discreetly produced the endorsement plate, keeping it close to his person so that only Sherry could see.

"It appears genuine," she remarked. "Still, it does not prove that they issued a specific order relevant to Miss Page."

She wasn't wrong.

"But it's true!" Page said. "I really was—"

"And how am I to believe you, Miss Page, after lying to your family?" Sherry said. The fact sealed Page's lips better than a gag order could.

This was quickly turning into a muddy issue.

[-1 Excitement]

… A very muddy issue. The notification instantly implied that Kalender's odd way of dealing with the curse could be reverted. It likely wasn't a passive thing, but Page's circumstances at home sounded as if it would definitely cause her Excitement to plummet. If she were forced to return home, the curse could potentially return to Affection, and it would take its normal course for her. She would suffer the same, dreadful fate as any charmed girl.

The other implication was that the Excitement stat didn't necessarily reflect Page's impressions of him, since people other than himself could affect it. Did that mean it was possible for someone to impact Jyn's Respect towards him?

All this, Kalender was burdened to be the only one who knew in this instant. He sighed. "Miss Sherry—" "That's Maid Sherry, for you." "—Sorry. Maid Sherry, you said a few days could be spared? Could you let us talk this out with the higher-ups and see what they have to think about all this?"

Sherry walked a few paces before looking up. "That will do," she finally said. "I will regularly visit Miss Page, however. If anything is amiss…" She glared. "I will personally deal with it."

She left the trio to their devices. Page sighed, while Jyn inched her hand away from her sword's hilt—she'd reacted on instinct after the Maid's pressure. She turned to Kalender, and noticed his own reaction.

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"Kalender, are you okay?" she asked.

"There's a lot of things to unpack," he replied. He'll have to talk to Jyn, at least, about what he'd just discovered, but that would have to wait 'til later. "A-anyway, I don't think mom's gonna sit this one out, not after what I'm about to tell them."

He looked to Page. She had a downcast gaze.

"Let's get equipment for you, shall we?" he said. "I don't think your dad's going to ignore what mom wants."

Page chuckled. "No. No he won't."

They went into the store. The old shopkeeper looked up from his seat, then back to the book in his hands. He didn't fancy a conversation until it was really needed.

"How about this one?" Jyn suggested. It was a quarterstaff from anywhere, of little note, and little in Notes—50, in fact. Compared to a 300-Note sword, they could get more weapon per Note.

Not that it mattered. Page was paying.

"If you want a sword as well, I won't stop you," Jyn added. Page shook her head with a chuckle. "A quarterstaff is fine, really."

Jyn nodded. A quarterstaff is good. She leaned over to Kalender. "Could you put a magic circle on the end of it? To shoot a fire bullet or maybe generate a magic spearhead?"

Kalender grinned. "I'll try it out later."

They also got a utility knife and some armor for Page. There were some basic healing potions in stock, but each one cost about 200 Notes—or a week's worth of food. It wasn't the sort of thing you'd casually chug down. They should be alright with some splints, bandages, and good old-fashioned adventurer's common sense.

Page pointed at the potions on the shelf behind the old shopkeeper. "Three of those please," Page said, eliciting a 'Huh?!' from Jyn.

***

After buying Page's equipment, they decided that Jyn and Kalender should hold onto them for the meantime. Jyn wanted Kalender to put all sorts of magic circles all over the weapons and armor.

Why shouldn't she? She had a personal enscriber now, and he did it all for shits, kicks, giggles, and free. Might as well abuse him—respectfully.

"Bye! Both of you!" Page waved, putting on her best smile.

"See ya!" "Until tomorrow."

Although Page waved with cheerful eyes, Kalender knew that she was just burying her anxiety. She didn't want to go home. She liked it outside.

As Kalender and Jyn walked back to the resthouse together, she said, "Let's make a report." Kalender replied with a nod.

They entered a dark alley. A different one this time, but they figured the shadow would be there.

"Oh no, you did what?" Jyn deadpanned. Kalender rolled his eyes, to which Jyn sighed. "Just let me have my fun."

"But… why?"

"I second him. Why?" the shadow added from nowhere. She emerged from the foot of a door. "You could simply call me out."

"We never established a handshake," Jyn replied. "Seeing that my act consistently elicits your presence, I simply kept to it."

The shadow shook her head. She wasn't wrong. She'd been made sensitive to Jyn's bad acting, tuning out every other presence in the town whenever such acting disgraced the shadows.

"Then, next time, just call me with 'I wonder how my mother is doing'," the shadow suggested.

Even you?! Jyn might be the weird one here.

"Then?" the shadow asked, tapping her finger on her dagger's scabbard.

Jyn sighed. "There is a powerful Maid named Sherry, in the service of Lord Turner, looking to retrieve Page and return her to Poette. We've acquired leeway of three days to convince her otherwise."

The shadow cocked an eyebrow. "Are you making the Inquisition your errand boy?"

Before Jyn could answer, Kalender stopped her, then stepped forward. "There's another thing. I just discovered that the weird stat change effect I have can be reversed."

Jyn was surprised at this. "When?"

"Just a while ago, when Sherry was speaking. Page's Excitement went down by one."

"Do you realize what you're saying?" the shadow said. "The implications are…"

"Yeah, I don't like it, either," Kalender shook his head. "There's too many things we don't know. What happens when Excitement hits zero? Ah, actually, does anyone know what happens when Affection hits zero?"

"Suicide," the shadow replied. "It was but one case, and it isn't even a confirmed one. The Cursed One being interviewed claimed the Affection stat going backwards, and the victim's body was found with a knife in her heart. The Cursed One's alibi was solid, and third parties witnessed the suicide. We know little about how it happened, otherwise."

Chances weren't looking good that Excitement hitting zero wouldn't do anything tragic.

Kalender balled his fists. He cared too much.

Jyn winced at his expression, then looked to the shadow. "I have some experience in matters such as these. I understand that the Inquisition would be overstepping its authority if it tried to force Lord Turner to heel for the sake of one man."

"Then you understand?" the shadow said.

"Still, this is a frontier of understanding the curse that the Inquisition cannot look away from. Isn't there any way to officialize this matter in a way that Lord Turner would understand?"

The shadow thought for a moment. "Deputizing your party to work for us is one way."

That sounds shady as heck! "What's the catch?" Kalender asked.

"You will be dragged into the Inquisition's politics. Not even Senior Yal can shield you from it."

Guh. "Tough shit, dude…"

… 'Dude' …? The shadow didn't know what to think of Kalender.

All involved were scratching their heads over the problem, but it was Jyn who came up with the winning solution.

"Do you report to Inquisitor Yal?" Jyn asked the shadow.

"Yes. Why?"

"Maybe he has a more … complete view of things, and can find a simple solution to all of this?"

"You are … asking a Senior of the Inquisition to solve your problem?"

"I agree with Jyn," Kalender added. "This problem's beyond all of us. I mean, the only thing we really need is Lord Turner's understanding, right? It's gonna be really weak coming from shady people like us—" "Kalender, I am offended." "—but if someone with legit standing says it, it'll be all go down smoothly, right?"

The shadow shook her head. The reasonableness was unreasonable to her ears. Maybe a different person could be dispatched? It is not as if Senior Yal would be the one to visit Lord Turner—gah! She caught herself seeing the merits of the idea.

Eventually, it also overloaded her brain. "Fine. I will simply report what I have heard," she said before disappearing into the shadows.

"Well, that went well," Kalender remarked.

"You think?" Jyn replied. "Let's go. The sun is almost down, and I desperately need to soak in a bath."

"Aha, a convert to the cause!"

"What on Gaia are you talking about?"

They retreated back to Windchimes for dinner and a bath.