Chapter 26: Chapter 25: Mapping Things Out

So…how are you holding up, being a girl now? Lia asked.

Rose stumbled for a split second before quickly catching herself. Lia probably wouldn’t have noticed if she wasn’t riding her, but there was an interruption.

“F-fine!” Rose said. “Why this all of a sudden?!”

Well, when you were a rat it was…well, pretty much a non-issue, but now you’re humanoid and your body is, ah, quite different than the one you used to have.

“Well…my feelings on it haven’t changed from when you first asked.” Rose said, turning her head to the side and obstructing Lia’s view of her face even more.

When I first asked?

“B-back when you had just enlightened me, and asked me if I cared what I was before. I-I still don’t, and I care more about what I am now, you know?”

I see. Alright, as long as you’re not uncomfortable or anything. If you are, let me know, and I’ll pester Amelia about seeing if we can’t make an exception to this whole ‘female-only’ thing.

“F-far from it!” Rose said. “I feel great!”

Well, just let me know if something like that happens. I’ll do whatever it takes to fix it.

“Thank you.” Rose said. “I…I…just…thank you. That sentiment makes me…well, just really happy, and I don’t know why.”

Don’t even mention it. Lia said. It’s the least I can do.

The two fell into a sort of silence after that, one which lasted until they reached the map a few minutes later. It was on a board that had been driven into the ground, and showed all the locations of the buildings on campus, which building was what, and where the map was located.

“Is…this it?” Rose asked, pointing to a spot on the map.

That’s the one. Lia confirmed.

“Do you mind if I take a bit and study it? I want to prepare for this campaign.”

Actually…how strong are you?

“Pretty strong.” Rose said. “Definitely stronger than a normal person, I could lift quite a bit when I tried.”

Perfect. I’m going to uproot this thing, and we can carry it back to the fort and look at it there.

“Oh, good idea.”

Lia began to work some earth magic, watching in satisfaction as the map was slowly pushed out of the surrounding soil and eventually fell on its side. Rose squatted down and picked the sign up with a grunt, then stood up and slung it over her shoulder.

“This…might…be a…bit tougher…than I thought.” She puffed. “I’m going…to…try to…hurry back.” She continued.

Umm, give me a second here…Lia said, looking into herself and seeing what magic she had at her disposal. It was…nice, being able to do that; it was something she had always wanted to be able to do but never had the talent for, so that was just one more thing she was grateful for in this second life.

Sorry, the only thing I have that can help is some blood magic, but that feels like it requires blood to have been spilt, and for the target to have blood, and I don’t know if yours counts.

Rose was silent for a moment. “Analysis is telling me it doesn’t.”

You’re getting answers like that out of it already? It took me…quite a while to get anything useful.

“I put a lot of focus into leveling it up, and after the raid on the goblin base I had leveled up to level three. Apparently, information about blood magic counts as “easily obtained”, which actually kind of makes sense, since you and one of the baronesses have it.”

Yeah, that would probably do it. Wait…you’ve stopped being out of breath.

“I realized I could strengthen myself with my magic.” Rose said, turning away slightly. Now that Lia was looking, she could see that Rose’s skin looked…brighter, and slightly more yellow. “I really should have thought about that earlier.”

No, it’s fine. Lia laughed. This is still new to you, stuff like this is to be expected. And, secretly, Lia was glad that Rose had forgotten. It showed that she wasn’t some untouchable being; she was…well, just a person. Or, technically, just sapient, not a person, but Lia was going to be redefining what it meant to be a person, so it was only a matter of time before they were truly people and not just sapient monsters.

“Actually, going back a little, is blood magic still frowned upon in this era?” Rose asked.

Not as much, thanks in no small part to you, actually. There’s still a bit of a stigma, but it’s a well respected field now, it even has its own department at the university.

“Excellent. I…I feel like that stigma was unjust. Magic is purely a tool, and there are no good or evil tools.” She paused, putting a finger to her chin. “Except, perhaps, intelligent weapons. But I feel those hardly count as tools.”

Lia smiled, shaking her head slightly. While I agree with you here, do you mind if I play the monster’s advocate?

“The what?”

Ah, that must be a newer turn of phrase. It basically means someone who is…being contrary for the sake of debate. Essentially, it’s when you argue for a position you disagree with, or one that goes against the standard belief. It’s…well, again, for debate’s purposes.

“I see. Why monster’s advocate, though?”

Couldn’t tell you. Maybe because it’s a position that no one would usually take?

“Ah. Yes, go ahead then.”

While using a tool isn’t inherently evil, there are certainly tools that encourage behavior that might be considered evil. Lia said. Blood magic is often cited as one such tool, as it requires the life force of a living being in order to function, with the blood of sapient people generally being considered more powerful when used in big spells, which further incentivizes evil behavior.

“That last bit isn’t actually true.” Rose said. “People just tend to have a lot more blood than small animals, and that blood is usually pretty fresh. A herd of cows would do you just as well as a bunch of people.”

I know, I learned that in class, but that’s what people say. So…what do you think?

“I think that that is little different than a sword. It is easy to use a sword on people, yes, but no one calls it an evil tool. In the right hands, blood magic is a much more powerful tool than a sword, but it doesn’t make it any more evil. Even if it is used to attack a large group of people, that is no different from any other type of magic being used for that purpose. In fact, it is often less harmful for attacking groups of people than other types of magic, since it requires significantly more setup to do so.”

Amazing. Lia said.

“What is?”

Well, your stance on things like this was pretty well known, and since your death, people have argued against it. I always thought it was a bit unfair to try and argue with a dead person, and I was always curious to know how you would respond to some of those things. I gave you one of the responses people have to your take on blood magic, and you responded with what is generally considered one of the better arguments against that viewpoint. I’m just…impressed.

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“It’s hardly anything to get impressed over.” Rose said. “It’s simply the logical conclusion, given the contents of the argument against me.”

Still, it’s nice to know that you would have pretty handily been able to rebuke the naysayers.

Rose raised an eyebrow. “Did I not “rebuke the naysayers” when I was alive before?”

No. Lia chuckled. There weren’t any naysayers when you were alive. They were all too scared to say anything.

“Lia, I’m…sorry if this is a sensitive topic, but… how did I die? Surely I was strong enough to have gained immunity to aging, right?”

Lia blinked. I’m the one that should be asking you if it’s a sensitive topic.

“It is not.” Rose said. “I may be remembering more about it, but…the more I do, the more I am sure that it was not a life I was fond of. I hold an…academic curiosity about it, and I’m going to remember anyway, so I figured I might as well ask.”

It’s…really not pleasant, are you sure you want to know?

“I do.”

Well…you were assassinated by your own daughter. You purportedly did not have much time for your family, so the two of you were…distant. An unsavory element of the court convinced her it would be for the best if you were to…disappear. She would get the throne, and “progress” would be able to be made again. You know, ignoring the fact that more progress in science in and sapient rights was made during your rule than ever before, but…that’s beside the point.

Rose was silent for a long moment. “What happened to her? And…also my partner, if I had one.”

Lia winced. They died in the ensuing chaos. Your daughter was never the same after your death, she fell into a deep depression and was betrayed by the same people who convinced her to kill you in the first place. Your wife died in the same raid, in an attempt to protect your daughter.

Rose was once again silent for an almost uncomfortably long time. “I…see.” She said eventually. “I must admit, that…hurt, more than I was expecting it to. Perhaps…perhaps my interest was not as academic as I had assumed. I…hate to press this topic further, but…how did she kill me? Surely I was incredibly strong and had survived assassinations in the past, yes?”

You were. Lia said. No one is sure what happened, your daughter never told. She went into your room one night, and when she came out you were dead. The prevailing theory is that…well, you let it happen. The only person who really knows why is you, but…well, we’ll have to wait until you regain more of your memory to find out.

“I…have some guesses.” Rose admitted. “I…well, I feel like I loved my family dearly. I got that emotion strongly when you talked about them. I don’t think I could bring myself to harm them. And…aside from that…I was probably tired. I did not like my old life, and I probably decided it was time to end it. A combination of those is likely what did it.”

I…see. Lia said.

“This…is an awkward request, especially since I just realized it is something I want, but…could you bring my family back? Enlighten them like you Enlightened me? I…I’m sorry to ask, but I don’t think I could forgive myself if I didn’t.”

I’m sorry. Lia said. I will be honest, I don’t know how I picked you. I don’t know how any of my Enlightenment works. I will try my best to bring them back, but…I cannot promise I will be able to.

Rose nodded. “And that is all I can ask from you. Thank you, my Queen.”

Of course. As I said before, it’s the least I can do. You’ve been such a big help, it wouldn’t be right to not try and help you back.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they returned to their encampment. Once safely there, Rose drove the sign into the ground and wiped her brow. “Glad that’s over with.” She said. “I need to get stronger fast, so I don’t need to use magic next time.”

Or we can just have drones do it next time. Lia said. They’re kind of built for this sort of thing.

“Don’t underestimate what brute strength can do.” Rose replied. “We can’t always count on having drones around. Sometimes, we’re going to be in places that are too dangerous for the drones, and if we’re lacking in strength there, we’re really going to be hurting.”

“Besides,” she continued, giving a shrug, “it’ll come with leveling up, so it’s not like I’m going to spend a bunch of extra time working for it.”

Fair enough. Lia said.

Rose began staring at the map, tracing routes with her finger. “It’s a bit…out of the way,” she eventually said, “but so long as we don’t see too much resistance on the outside walkways, that shouldn’t be any trouble.”

Guess it all depends on how the monster situation is in the other parts of campus. So…effective now, you are in charge of everything to do with securing the biology building. Scouting, capture, everything.

Rose let out a groan. “I’m in charge again?” She said. “I thought I was going to have a break from being in charge of you!”

Ah, sorry, should have worded that better. Lia replied quickly. You are not in charge of me this time around. I just want you to take the initiative on the biology building while I work on other stuff. So…you’ll probably want to clear your troop compositions and stuff with me first, and I’ll be available if you need me for a specific task, but other than, that we’re working separately.

Rose nodded. “That’s good.” She said. “But…may I ask why? Why not do it like we did the market, at least until you put me in charge?”

Lia let herself sink further down into Rose’s chest. I’m going to be completely and totally honest here. She said. You’re a lot better at this than I am. Like, a lot a lot. Right now, we’re in a very…fragile stage of our development, and I don’t want to risk huge losses at the moment. In the future, once we have more leeway, I’m hoping you can teach me how to be a better warlord, but until then you’re going to be in charge of most of the combat and strategy, and I’ll take care of…well, experimentation, mostly.

“Oh.” Rose said. “I…did not think of that. Um…so…you’re just going to be staying here and messing around? Are you sure you’re not going to get bored?”

No. Lia sighed. I’m not. I would really rather be out there leading the charge, but I don’t want to risk it right now.

“Tell you what,” Rose said, “why don’t we meet in the middle here? You take the lead, but I’m going to formulate my own plans. Before you do anything, come and run all your plans by me first. I’ll point out any issues I can think of, and will work with you until you have something good going.

“Then, when it comes time to actually fight, I’ll command the battles, but you watch and, once the battle is over, tell me what you’ve learned. We don’t need to treat this teaching period as all or nothing, you’re fully in charge of everything or I am. We can slowly ease you in to being in charge of more and more.”

That’s…actually way better than what I was thinking. Lia replied, perking up. I’m…not sure why I was thinking we would have to have one of us totally in charge of everything.

“You’re too used to thinking about a rigid chain of command.” Rose said. “A rigid power structure does have its upsides, but, honestly, it’s really not necessary right now. Only three of us are even sapient, so…it’s really like there are just three of us and a bunch of tools. For the time being, we can just play things by ear and deal with any issues as they come.”

Right, so…I guess we should both look over this map and come up with a plan? Lia said. Or at least the broad strokes of one. I don’t want to start getting into details until I can see what I can make with the stuff we’re getting from the goblin’s base. I’m guessing everyone’s going to be back in half an hour or so, so…yeah.

Rose nodded. “Alright, that sounds good. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions on anything, alright?”

Yeah, I’ll do that. Lia replied. And likewise, if you want to know something about the college, please ask, I’m more than happy to answer.

“Of course. Thank you, Lia.” And with that, the two slipped into a comfortable silence, staring at the map and plotting how best to go about their conquest. The silence was occasionally broken by one of the two asking the other a question, only to slip right back into that silence afterwards.

Lia was shocked when she was snapped out of her reverie by Lily walking up to the two of them. It really didn’t feel like it had been that long, but surely, it must have, if Lily was already here.

“We have gathered all the material and are in the process of carting it back, my Queen.” Lily said, giving a bow. “Would you like to see a list?”

Oh, uh, yeah. Lia replied. Actually, could you read it out for me? I’m not exactly well suited to turning pages, and it’d be nice for Rose to hear, too.

“Of course, my Queen. To begin with, we have all the goblin equipment not on bodies, coming in at just over one hundred spare clubs and fifty pieces of armor…”