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Arc V Chapter 22

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26th Ignis Solar 753 AAC

The night proceeded, and so did their talks. Their talks turned out to be quite productive, far more productive than she had expected. Mainly due to the fact that her interlocutor, a certain doll and noble girl in question, proved to be cooperative and a reasonable human being, much to her delight and relief. Despite her complicated and unusual circumstances, and minor misgivings and grievances on her part, Lady Aurora eventually came to ... accept reality. At least, to some degree. It only took some minor persuasion and a few honeyed words. But such was already considerable progress, more than she could have hoped for, considering the challenging nature of their relationship. All in all, the girl took her current situation well, which was laudable. They were not at each other's throats any more. They were not busy any more with hurling insults and accusations at each other. That was tangible progress. Slowly, but surely, the atmosphere improved. Aurora was even gradually warming up to her. There were hints of understanding, hints of sympathy in her tender voice. It was just as she had thought, Lady Aurora ... was a gentle soul through and through. And now they were paired together ... She, and the innocent, little girl with her soul trapped inside her beloved doll ... What a cruel twist of fate. Not that they could do anything about it.

“...” Aurora took a deep breath, her back straightened, and her chin held high, facing little Aurora in front of her. Now that she had calmed down, the girl was sitting on her chair again, her tiny hands folded neatly in her lap. “I hope that answers your question.”

Little Aurora nodded. “More or less ...”

Aurora grinned. “Fabulous~. Any further questions? No reason to hesitate. Always feel free to ask.”

Little Aurora tilted her tiny head, pondering. “Well, as a matter of fact, there ... is ... something that keeps bothering me. There is something that I wanted to ask you already for quite some time.”

“Such as~?” Aurora beamed.

Little Aurora started fidgeting with her hands. “Ehm, how shall I put it ... But where are we?”

Her eyes wandered around, studying her surroundings. “It seems like we are some kind of room ... And there is even another person here ...” Her stare fell on Iris, soundly asleep under her blanket inside her bed, or rather their bed now that they were sharing it. The day had been a long day and Iris was tired.

Aurora raised her index finger. “Well, these are ... excellent observations. But to answer your questions, we are in Freyburg, and this is a room at the adventurer's guild. It is our current lodging for the time being. Mostly due to a lack of available alternatives. Certainly better than sleeping on the streets. They are no suitable place for a little noble girl and her cute doll. Imagine us on the cold, harsh, unforgiving streets, surrounded by plebeian rabble. That is not an option.” Aurora shook her head.

“...” Little Aurora blinked in mild surprise, her confusion apparent. Her thoughts were hardly difficult to guess. Freyburg? Adventurer's guild? “Well, I neither contest that the streets are cold and harsh, nor that they are no option. But I was wondering rather, what are you doing here? Why are you at the adventurer's guild? Why ...”

Aurora interrupted her, “Correction, what are WE doing here? Why are WE at the adventurer's guild?”

“Eh?” Little Aurora raised an eyebrow.

Aurora elaborated, “You asked, what are YOU doing here? But you see, we are now both one. So it is rather, what are WE doing here? Why are WE at the adventurer's guild?”

“... ... ... I suppose, ... you have a point there”, Little Aurora conceded. “I guess, ... what are ... we doing here, then?” Her eyes wandered towards her, gauging her reaction.

“...” Aurora nodded approvingly.

“And why are ... we here at the adventurer's guild?”

“Good girl~. You learn fast~.” Aurora rewarded her doll with a proper head pat, caressing, ruffling her soft hair. The girl deserved a small reward for her efforts. “As for your question, as for why we are here, it is a long story ... If you allow me to explain.

It all started the night you died. That was the moment I took over then. I restored our body to the best of my abilities and took thereafter all measures that were necessary to survive, which were rather necessary. Because I must confess that I certainly did not expect to be thrown straight into the mist of battle just after reincarnating. I had the honour to be greeted a bunch of bloodthirsty and cold blooded assassins welcomed me. That was a rather nasty surprise of the more unwelcome kind. Not a pleasant experience, if I might say so. Our soul was ... severely damaged, and our mana reserves ... depleted. Yet, I was forced to fight immediately. But we made it through. Somehow. We survived.” There was a hint of pride and a sense of accomplishment in her voice.

“...” Little Aurora listened attentively, following her every word. “What ... What happened to them?”

“To whom?” Aurora grinned, folding her hands.

“To the assassins ... What ... What happened to them?” Little Aurora stared at her.

Her words amused Aurora. Her question elicited a giggle. “What a curious question ... I think that it should be obvious. They were the enemy. They represented a threat. I dealt with them accordingly.”

“Does that ... Does that mean you killed them?” Little Aurora hesitated, her voice wavering. Her reaction was so cute and heart warming. Such childish innocence was a rare sight indeed. Especially, in a harsh world like this one.

Aurora nodded in response. “Obviously. Not that I had much of choice in this matter.”

“...” Her words unsettled little Aurora, her throat gulping. “All ... of them?”

Aurora giggled. “All of them. Down to the last man. After all, survivors would have been rather inconvenient, wouldn't they?”

“...” Little Aurora fell silent, reluctant to speak. “...” Her words must have scared her.

“Is something the matter, Lady Aurora?”

“No, ... it is nothing ...” Little Aurora shook her head, and yet her hand was shaking, trembling ever so slightly. “It is just ... For you being able to kill all of them ... It means that you must be strong. Stronger than anyone I know.”

Aurora furrowed an eyebrow. “Oh, how so?”

Her doll looked at her. “You killed them. You killed them all. Whoever they were, they killed Geralt. They killed the knights. They outnumbered us. And yet you slaughtered them. All on your own. All alone.”

Aurora beamed. “You are correct.”

“That is only possible if you are strong. In fact, this is a feat far beyond mere strength.”

Aurora smiled secretively, a giggle accompanying her. “You are a sharp girl, Lady Aurora. I give you that. To be found out so easily.”

Little Aurora clenched her tiny fists, mustering her courage. “So you are telling the truth? So you are strong?”

Aurora flashed a satisfied grin. “It is a possibility that I will neither deny, no confirm. But I will admit that I am a practitioner of the magic arts, and that my strength should not be underestimated. My name was feared by friend and foe alike. The rest ... I will leave it up to your imagination.”

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