“Going somewhere?” one of the acolytes serving as a doorman for the Gold Dorm asked as a young woman exited the building. Truly, he had no authority to ask the question but given the late hour, he couldn’t resist. Sneaking off in the dead of night screamed that the girl was bound for trouble and he thought he should at least attempt to head her off. Maybe offer his assistance. It never hurt to have a noble in your debt, even if he couldn’t identify her beneath the hooded cloak she wore.

Orphelia didn’t bother answering as she continued to walk. A vague feeling had her turn in the direction of the Grand Market, though it would take hours to reach on foot and nothing would be open given the time of night. The location hardly mattered. She simply needed to be out of the dorm and away from any prying eyes.

After a few minutes of walking, the reason for her stroll appeared. First as a shadow passing over her. Orphelia looked up as a massive bird she didn’t recognize swooped down. As it neared the ground, its figure shifted. A painful throbbing behind her eyes forced her to turn away but she kept walking. By the time she felt comfortable enough to open them, the thrall walked beside her, even in her usual simple white dress despite having just changed forms.

“A lovely night for a walk, wouldn’t you say?” the creature asked with a charming smile, linking their arms together.

“Yes.”

After a long day of chasing her racing thoughts, the creature’s voice had dragged her from sleep, summoning her. Inconvenient but not unwelcome. She had many things she wanted to ask about the events earlier and she could admit she sought the creature’s reassurance. Will we speak about the debacle earlier?

The thrall’s tail slowly whipped back and forth. [I am capable, Orphie. I am powerful. However, I am not conceited and not so vain that I must claim every event is orchestrated by myself. The blunder of your kingdom in relation to my mistress had nothing to do with me.] She chuckled. [I am attempting to reap as many resources from this kingdom as I can. I don’t need them thrown away in a pointless war. More importantly, Lou wouldn’t approve.]

The creature seemed to be, if not fearful, at least apprehensive of her summoner’s ire. Orphelia had to wonder what secrets Lourianne Tome was hiding that she could corral such a monster. So, the insult to the elves wasn’t orchestrated by you. Did you know?

[Did I know that throwing a piece of their god in their face was an insult? No. The few of my kind that have interacted with them have been restricted to, hm, less religious parts of the continent and are thoroughly occupied with matters of more carnal nature from what I understand. The clans do not care to educate their breeding stock.]

Breeding stock? What—

[As delightful as the topic is, it is not something you need to be concerned about. I didn’t summon you for a history lesson. We must discuss how we are going to fix the king’s error.]

You’re helping us?

[For now. Harvest cannot afford a war with the elves. You cannot afford a war with a single province and if used the right way, that little ‘gift’ could incite all five.]

Why are you so convinced humanity will lose? Even taking Kierra as a benchmark, there are those who could stand against her. Not to mention wars are won by armies, not individuals.

[Perhaps I should spend some time on your education because that is entirely wrong. If the individual is strong enough, they can topple an army by themselves. Allow me to enlighten you. When you seek to determine a winner in a war between two separate intelligent races, you need to look at a one more quality besides numbers, strength, and strategy. You have to understand a race’s potential.

[Take a look at each race’s strongest individual. Doesn’t matter if it is someone alive or deceased. Take the height of the race’s potential and compare them. You proclaim that there are people who can stand against Kierra as if that is something to be proud of when you are comparing the strongest your kingdom has to offer against a young elf who still has a lot of growing to do.]

Are you saying…Kierra Atainna is weak?

[Weak? For this world, not at all. In time, she could become an existence to rival this world’s greatest. And that, my blade, is what I’m trying to express. Elves have the potential to obtain pure affinities. What will your kingdom do when an elf with a pure fire affinity and who has had, oh, five centuries to wield it decides to burn Harvest to ash?]

The creature chuckled at the horror within Orphelia’s mind. [During the Great War, humans lost many of their numbers as they were in the thick of the fighting. Your champions were slain and your people uprooted, forced to fight for a new home. Meanwhile, the elves remained safely tucked away in their forests. If their champions were to make moves…it would not be a war, my blade. It would be a massacre.]

A pure affinity and centuries to build their power due to their longer lifespans. This was before physical casters got involved. It almost seemed unfair. Orphelia shook as she imagined Harvest facing an army of such people. The thin tail that wrapped around her waist was both comforting and unsettling.

[That’s not taking into account culture. Humans are hedonistic and lazy at heart, I find. They prefer pleasures to pain, simple over difficult. They will surrender before they struggle. Retreat rather than die. Give away their freedoms and their lives to another if it means they can live without the threat of violence. Compromise any morals in the pursuit of their desires. They are soft. Soft things that can harden and grow spikes under the right conditions but are far more often trampled.

[The elves could not be any more different. Their provinces have separate traditions and focuses but the entire people revere strength. They live for struggle. They revel in pushing themselves and their boundaries. To not seek to improve oneself is tantamount to heresy amongst them. Their children fight monsters that would slaughter a small village of this kingdom’s peasants.]

You’ve made your point, Orphelia thought bitterly.

[Aw. Don’t worry, Orphie~ While they are certainly dangerous, they are uncaring for most things beyond their forests. As they are focused on the pursuit of personal strength rather than the strength of their provinces, they have little history of war. Many personal duels to the death, fights over rare materials, and kidnappings of powerful fighters for mates, but no outright war.]

Elves…are insane.

[They think differently. Which is where you are saved. While Kierra is quite disgusted with your king, she is disgusted with him and him alone. She may want to tear his head off for insulting her god, but she doesn’t want to see his kingdom burn. You may even be spared having this information disseminated amongst the elves through Lou. My summoner wishes to avoid war as well and is currently making an effort to soothe her wife’s anger. Something you will relay to your father.]

Orphelia smiled. Finally, good news. Does that mean—

[No promises. Kierra is…a willful woman. A very willful woman who enjoys violence. Not the honorable duels of your knights. She wants to be neck-deep in the blood and stepping over carcasses with every step. A war would suit her just fine and you know how Lou indulges women. She can be calmed but she can also rile Lou into action. It is a test of will.]

Orphelia’s relief disappeared. We…I believe it would be best to sway her into calming her wife.

[I am reasonably confident that there is no need for me to intervene. If there was merely Kierra to consider, perhaps Harvest would be in trouble. Luckily, Lou’s second wife is against action that endangers ‘innocent’ lives. For her, Lou will not budge.]

It took a moment for Orphelia to understand who the thrall spoke of. Alana James.

[Indeed.]

I see. Their…relations have become official?

[Jealous, my blade? If you mean to ask if Alana has decided to end her game of pretend and return Lou’s affections, the answer is yes.]

Orphelia hoped the girl was not one to hold a grudge.

[Now, for your assignment.]

She braced herself, ready for any unreasonable demand the creature would make.

[You will return to the capital and play the role of an obedient tool. If you are free to move around, you will seek out Gordon Mason, the current head of the Mason family, previously known as the Grimoires. He will put you in contact with your, hm, handler. Otherwise, they will find you. With their help, you will work to uncover whatever has the king so jumpy and any other tasks they assign you to. Treat any order that comes from them as coming from me, as they are working on my behalf in all things. Understand?]

If I’m honest, I am a little…disappointed? Underwhelmed?

The creature laughed in her mind. [What did you expect, my blade? That I would have you kill the king and sabotage the capital?]

That is the usual nature of my assignments.

[While you are a blade, I grabbed you because of your position. I needed an agent with connections to the capital used to nightwork. There may come a time when I need a dagger in someone’s throat but information is a far more dangerous weapon in my hands. So, you will help me obtain it.]

Orphelia nodded. It wasn’t as if she had much of a choice. I understand. But, if this was all, could you not have left me sleeping? Why are we walking down an empty road in the middle of the night?

[Very good. That is for my second objective of the night. We will be putting on a small performance for our little tail.]

At the mention of someone tailing them, Orphelia just managed not to turn and scan her surroundings. Who?

In response, the thrall guided her off the road, toward a small grouping of trees. Orphelia originally thought they were using the plants to obscure their figures but it was hardly a dense forest. They might be difficult to spot from the road but only thanks to the limited lighting. Besides, if the thrall wanted to be rid of their tail, there were far more direct means of handling the problem.

Her musings were suddenly brought to a halt as she was roughly pushed against one of the wide trunks. A slim leg pushed between her own as the thrall stared up at her with luminous pink eyes and a predatory smile. What—

[Don’t worry, Orphie~] The tail around her waist uncoiled, arcing behind the creature in a way that felt vaguely threatening. [For this next part, you don’t have to do anything at all. Simply enjoy one of the benefits of working for a succubus.]