Battle Admin System 17

17 - Always Be Prepared

The air was tense around the Adventurer Square. There were no vendors to be found even though some would still operate at these times.

The ambush had been clearly put together with thought in mind and intimidation to spare. The ambushers must’ve waited until they received the word of Lillea and Fiona’s approach to spring this.

Fiona shivered in fear, moving closer to Lillea’s leg instead of distancing herself. Most people would run away from anyone considered demonic. Lillea’s apprentice found comfort holding onto the hem of the giant’s dress. Like a young child.

Instead of having intentions to leave Fiona out of this, the adventurers turned a dark eye onto her, too. Some adventurers put their focus solely on Fiona.

Everyone prepared for a fight. They had known Lillea for long enough. She had heard of what they thought of her in secret. Arrogant. Suspicious. Domineering. Monstrous. They were prepared to face her worse side.

Lillea bent and howled with laughter. Her voice pounded the air and reverberated far. It had the effect of rattling some adventurers while comforting Fiona.

The apprentice smiled nervously. Like this was all a joke.

It wasn’t, but Lillea treated it all as such. She’d seen this all coming before it became a thought in the adventurers’ heads.

Lillea wiped a tear from her eye. Then without acknowledging the danger, she called out names. Full names. Some were in the adventure rank. One of the names was noble.

Thirteen adventurers in the 300s eyed her suspiciously. Many adventurers went by aliases. That didn’t stop Lillea and her goblin gang from digging up everything on everyone of concern.

“Come hither, you thirteen. For I call upon your debts as the rightful owner. Put yourself under my service for this night and your debts are cleared and made blank after sunrise.”

“Do not listen to the lies of a demoness! She will use you against us and spread darkness across the land!” roared the disgruntled veteran, the noble leader of this group. His tenure in Cold Tooth would enforce his will upon most.

The thirteen ran over and formed a line in front of Lillea and Fiona, anyway. The giant bellowed with even more laughter.

“The greatest darkness upon the empire’s land is their debt system! Is it my fault I’ve learned to wield what you’ve created, human? Perhaps you shouldn’t make it so easy to enslave your fellow man and woman to take advantage of them.”

“You are all damning your souls,” hissed the veteran.

“Um, excuse me!” Fiona staggered to a gap between indebted defenders and Lillea’s feet. “According to case studies of demonic attacks, if we were truly in danger, Lillea would’ve killed us all already. And I’m led to believe the Cold Tooth Lord has this under control.”

The adventurer veteran channeled bluish magic through his bastard sword. It chased away the darkness and made the air heavier with power.

“Demons are long known for their evil tactics to take over our realm. She is a prideful demon, one who will subjugate us! Submit or be returned to the nether, demoness!”

“How about I leave the Adventurer Square and find the guards? You can talk to them or the Cold Tooth Lord.” Lillea smirked.

The veteran hesitated.

Idiot. You hinged your entire plan on provoking me. Why would I come out the beast worth attacking in your fantasies? That is not the sum of me.

Lillea was a battler. She battled at all fronts, physically and mentally. And when dealing with political maneuvers, outmaneuvering and initiating contingencies worked better in her favor.

The fools had thought her primitive rampage against the bandit army was the basis for them to launch this ambush. Now it was time to make them feast on their stupidity.

Lillea spread her arms wide and everyone nearly launched into a fight when she roared, “Guild Leader!”

She’d done so with force. Yes, her Force Manipulation skill worked on her voice.

It left Fiona and the indebted defenders unaffected while thumping at the stone walls and columns of the guild building. It rocked the ambushers, too.

Seconds passed. The adventurers looked back and forth in stunned silence.

The guild leader appeared from the doorway. He was a reedy man with a reedy voice.

“Lady Moonstrider, please present yourself as a willing ally if you’re truly not corrupted by demonic influences. While we are not the church, we are adventurers who are given powers in service of the church.”

“Oh?” Lillea’s lips curled wolfishly. “And does this include Fiona?”

“Yes, of course. She’s of suspicion, too, because of you. She would be better protected and cleared of suspicion if you submit.”

“Suspicion because of me? Or suspicion because of the report she’s ready to submit to everyone of great concern?”

“That is not the matter to which we’re facing here. A demonic threat is a more grave concern.”

“If that was true, you would’ve attacked by now. But you’ve failed to understand my character.” Lillea picked up Fiona and turned her back on them. “Attack if you wish, but if my indebted guardians fail to defend me and Fiona, they will not have their debt made blank.”

“I will make your debts blank!” the Guild Leader shouted desperately.

“You can’t. I own their debt and do not intend to sell or wipe them if Fiona and I are harmed. I will hold my indebted guardians accountable.”

There was no more for Lillea to say. The thirteen she had called out were deeply indebted. Mostly because of their own negligence with gambling or acquiring gear that was out of their budget when they were young and ignorant.

Lillea had also sensed the adventurers were only following orders but weren’t sold completely on attacking Lillea. Some feared her. Others could see for themselves she was in control of herself.

The veteran was alone in his crusade. He could only pull the others with him because of his tenure and because of the Guild Leader’s manipulations.

So when the fighting started and spilled out of Adventurer Square, Lillea laughed once more. No magic or attack touched her because of her indebted defenders.

She’d selected the ones who had adequate defensive measures and scored above average in team tactics for a reason. She could’ve bought more debts among the adventurers but that would burn through her luxurious funds and reveal too many of her cards.

Fiona shook in Lillea’s hands, huddled close against the giant’s chest. There was more than fear inside the human. She also looked up in amazement and admiration of Lillea.

The Demonic Moon Giant smiled with a touch of savage glee. Then her expression melted into a welcoming smirk.

Perhaps Madame Lucia had a point with her words. Fiona was a soft light. Lillea was a vast darkness. Normally, one would fall prey to the other.

But Lillea was a follower of the moon. Its soft light had caressed her on the night she was born. In that regard, Lillea’s darkness would protect Fiona’s soft light and hold it dear. They could coexist.

Doza’s right that Fiona must become stronger. But even if she can’t meet expectations, I’m deriving joy out of this relationship. So I’ll protect her whenever she needs it.

The fighting didn’t last long. Damages outside of adventurer territory or the training yards would come with hefty fines for the guild. Additionally, the guards arrived with the guard captain.

He gave Lillea a nod before stepping forward to drill the laws through the ears of the guild and make them bleed hearing it. That was the only time Lillea would hear the captain’s voice. Which was a shame. He had a nice voice.

It was also nice of the guard captain to ignore Lillea’s indebted defenders. The thirteen came out alright if a little shocked or nicked from fighting their own. Now they trailed behind the giant, and Lillea could smell their uncertainty and fear.

“My thirteen of the night, you’ve made me proud. Continue being of service and in the morning we shall free you of debt and give you a fresh start.”

“Thank you for this opportunity to be of service to you, Lady Moonstrider,” one of the thirteen said. The others responded the same, some with more cheer than others.

They knew the giant had the keys to their collars. She could’ve been bluffing them. But there was no denying that Lillea had enough fortune to spare and buying the debt of an adventurer was a known practice among nobles. To many of them, Lillea was both a giant noble and a man-eating savage.

“To the Verdant Garden,” Lillea said with good cheer.

A male wood elf waited outside the wrought iron gate into the Verdant Garden. He wore a butler attire proudly, his white gloved hands bound behind the small of his back. When Lillea arrived, he bowed low at the waist and gestured for her to follow.

“Wait here. The Verdant Garden Master would protect me just fine.” Lillea watched her indebted defenders nod in assent before moving across the thoroughfare to loiter there. The Verdant Garden had a reputation for being upscaled and wouldn’t appreciate scruffy adventurers at their gate.

Lillea stepped over the fence and watched the vegetation shift out of her way. Grass, shrubs, trees, hedges, flowers that only bloomed at night, everything moved.

Lillea set Fiona down so the human could experience the splendor of the Verdant Garden on her own feet. From above, the garden arranged itself into an array of colors and patterns to mesmerize Lillea’s walk inside. Knowing the master, the garden would twist formations at Fiona’s level so she could enjoy her own show at the same time.

The air was a mild chill. There was no snow in sight. The wood elf led them to a veranda with an elaborate and living chair made of intertwined trees for Lillea to sit on. The table was made of the same intertwined plantlife with a spiral staircase for Fiona to use.

The wood elf butler simply jumped up to the top after Fiona climbed up all the way. A smaller table and chair across from Lillea waited for Fiona.

The elf told them of tonight’s offers. Lillea ran through a list of available drinks for her size. They even had noble rank drinks so Lillea could intoxicate further before Ravenous Survival burned out the poison.

The meals leaned toward the green, but they had meat options for cases like Lillea. She informed him of a special order she had made some time ago and he promised to check on it. Fiona took whatever the elf recommended.

Selections made, water served, Lillea and Fiona waited in silence. Lillea watched the human with open amusement. Fiona looked all around her.

No words came about until appetizers arrived, carried on different sized platters by strong roots. Fiona had seasoned vegetables. Lillea had normal-sized hogs. For this occasion she accepted the wooden utensils and ate with the refined etiquette of a lady.

“How?” Fiona asked before nearly choking on her food. “How are you so in control of everything? Fierce. Scary. Powerful. Smart. Beautiful. Sophisticated. You’re everything.”

Solo’s pride bloomed inside the arm. She took the compliments for Lillea better than the giant. Lillea simply chuckled, feeling a touch embarrassed from the heavy praise.

“I trained for all my life. Even from when I was born, I was being trained. This has instilled a certain mindset.” Lillea sliced off the piece of hog and ate it with grace and appreciation. Then she wiped her lips with a giant serviette. “I am not perfect. If I was, I’ll be a goddess, and everything will work as I want it to.”

“That’s way above my expectations.” Fiona paled. “Far above.”

“It’s power that pushes me. I want it in all facets. So I can prepare for battle.”

“Wait, what?” Fiona gawked. “You are you because you’re preparing for battle? Is this all the time?”

“Yes. I am always preparing for battle. Even now, I’m preparing to battle you.”

Fiona nearly dropped her utensils. “How?”

Lillea took another small bite. “I won’t explain what preparations I’m making for you. You will understand in time. Simply understand that Moonstriders exist to battle. The meaning changes depending on the Moonstrider, but the basis of what we do is to battle against the strong. Everything else is practice or a grab for more power.”

“The indebted adventurers? Was that a grab for power?” Fiona asked.

“No. That was practice. I predicted the guild would try for an ambush and use me to get to you. It was a good opportunity to exert my political and economic powers. You saw more of the latter. You will see more of the former soon.”

“That was all to get to me?” Fiona blinked in disbelief. “Me?”

“Yes.” Lillea looked at her with a touch of concern. “You are reporting on possible corruption in the guild. Multiple adventurers have taken bribes that would lead to the Guild Leader being the bigger culprit. Captive bandits and even hostages can be silenced. But your investigation can open the floodgates and overturn the Cold Tooth Adventurer Guild.”

Lillea was concerned. But she also enjoyed the slow but powerful realization dawning on Fiona.

The commoner had only wanted to report the incident honestly as atonement for the guild. She had no idea how deep into politics her actions would get. It was deep enough for Lillea’s demonic traits to be used as a mere excuse.

“Oh, no. Oh, no, oh, no. I didn’t mean to bring you such trouble.” Fiona panicked. “I’m so sorry, Lady Moonstrider!”

Lillea laughed aloud with sinister intent. “Oh, this is absolutely wonderful! Like I said, I’m always preparing for battle. And I do love battles I can predict and exploit.” Lillea lifted her face and sniffed when a purposeful breeze blew by. “And here comes the second course.”

The guild leader had to struggle his way through the garden. None of the plant life moved for him. He wasn’t even escorted by any workers.

He reached the field where Lillea sat with Fiona. Without having to say a word, Lillea dragged a finger across the giant table near Fiona’s position. The human’s table and chair slid across the wooden surface until it was near the edge.

Lillea and Fiona looked down upon the guild leader together.

“I had to swear an oath with my own adventurers for them to let me pass,” the reedy man said in disgust. “But fine, I’ll put that aside. In fact, I’ll put aside a good many things. I can calm down the demonic accusations, of course. And I can put everything right between us again, Lady Moonstrider.”

Lillea arched her back in her chair. Her wool outfit complimented her figure well and showed all her desirable traits. She heard the guild leader gulp and savored his befuddled moment. Then she relaxed and turned her gaze to Fiona.

“I am not the one to address,” Lillea said.

“You’re joking.” The guild leader gawked at Lillea. When he received no response, he turned to Fiona. “Your so-called investigation needs to be reviewed and approved under close watch. Not only did you go against orders but you have put the authority of the guild in question and–”

Lillea flicked her wooden fork and sank the points deep into the grass beside the guild leader’s foot. He was in his 300s and Noble Rank. But he was more the administrator and weasel than brave warrior, so he jumped aside, startled.

“Is it wise to demean someone who holds your future in her hands?” Lillea asked, grinning with malice. “You are beneath her. Enslaved by future fears. She has the power to ruin you. Power she has never had before. It can be so irresistible for someone who’s been stepped on and without power for so long to return the favor.”

The more Lillea talked, the more Fiona lost her fear of the guild leader. The fear morphed into something else. Something darker inside of Fiona. Something as dark as Lillea.

But to Lillea’s pleasure, the darkness in Fiona dissipated. The girl stood straighter. She held herself like a professional. Even while positioned above the guild leader, she looked at him as if to meet him squarely on even footing.

“Is this really your attempt to silence the truth?” Fiona asked.

The guild leader’s mouth opened and closed. He looked worried. For a moment, he almost appeared ready to beg. But he snapped back to his usual role and grew irate.

“You think she actually cares? She does not. She’ll just use you just like she uses everyone. You’ll become indebted to her, enslaved to her, and then when you stop being a usable tool, you’ll get tossed aside. Or eaten like a snack.”

Fiona closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You will have a copy of my report. So will the Cold Tooth Lord. So will the hostages. And so will the authorities who are your peers and your superiors. Everyone will know the failure and the corruption of the guild.”

Lillea smiled. I do love it when all my learning and efforts lead to wonderful results.

Moonstrider Learning V levels up from 284 to 286!