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Chapter 96: Barracuda Migration Event. [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2020-09-05 20:49:22 +0000 UTC"Why are you here?” I asked with annoyance, the question directed at the young woman sitting beside me. She was wearing an elegant dress that would make her stand out among the villagers and their patchwork clothing.
“How rude, Princ-, my apologies, Lady Hestia,” she nearly let slip with a frown, before immediately correcting it back into a smile, hiding her emotions behind it as she kept speaking. “I have simply decided to spend my day outside, on my dear father’s land, to observe the barracuda migration through our village’s river. It was surprising to me to meet you here, so I decided to join you. The more the merrier, correct?”
Ellaine Fiero Helvas, the daughter of Count and Countess Helvas. A beauty with shimmering blue hair braided with care into a hairstyle I would call cute and refined. Unlike her mother who kept her long blond hair kept in buns to appear more mature, Ellaine let her hair reach her back with braidings to cement the appearance of a youthful but proper young lady.
The dress she was wearing was different from the one she had worn to dinner the day before. It was shorter, only reaching her shins. It looked more comfortable to walk in, as I can attest the dresses we both wore yesterday would be ill-suited to walking around the village, as the hem would dirty without question. However, despite the difference, the amount of embroidery, the inclusion of her family’s emblem, and the cleanliness of her dress made it obvious to any onlookers who she was. She was screaming to be robbed if this weren’t her house’s fief.
“Please, don’t lie. I don’t know exactly what your parents are planning, but I can deduce you are here to supervise me. At least you aren’t resorting to spying, like last time,” I replied, already understanding the situation without needing her to answer.
This was the day after my dinner and disastrous negotiation with house Helvas. Sure, I might have secured the IDs which our party needed, but seeing as how Ellaine nearly called me “Princess”, it’s pretty clear they’ve already figured out one of my secrets. Count Helvas did mention he was able to “feel” the aura exuded from my [Princess] title, after all.
When I told what happened to Saori and Tasianna, they did mention I messed up a bit by not simply telling the Count I was a princess. We had already decided before the dinner that it was better if only a few people knew rather than everyone, so it wasn’t much of a problem for me to confess my royalty status. I had to agree. It was my mistake for not being able to figure that out. I was nervous but I did have nine “brains” to think that through…sigh.
Ellaine placed a hand on her cheeks, looking unperturbed at my guess. “Well, if I have been exposed so easily, then there is no more reason to stay quiet about it. Father ordered me to keep you company while you are here. He has told me he owes you a debt, so this is his way to repay you aside from your deal with him.”
“Having you as company is supposed to be repayment? Ahem, I do apologize if I sound extremely rude but, after what happened yesterday, I am not in the mood to entertain you,” I said bluntly, ignoring the slight glares I got from her retainers.
As Ellaine was a young lady from a noble house, she hadn’t come alone. Barathan, along with her personal maid and two knights were also here today as her escorts. Her maid and knights visibly showed their disapproval from my choice of words but were quickly silenced once Tasianna glanced at them. Barathan was the only one who ignored my words, almost like he was expecting them, and reprimanded the three for their behavior.
“Pardon our rudeness, Lady Hestia. Although we do understand your standpoint, we would like you to understand ours. As our guest, a prestigious one if I may say, we do have a duty to make sure no harm comes to you. Politically speaking, we are simply looking out for ourselves,” Barathan explained in response to my bluntness, keeping his persona of a perfect butler intact.
“It is as Barathan has said, Lady Hestia. Instead of thinking of me as a problem, may I suggest we build up our relationship like you mentioned yesterday? Is speaking with me that revolting?” Ellaine asked with the face of a girl betrayed by her best friend, causing me to sigh in exasperation.
“…May I also point out the fact that your presence is quite unnerving. Not for me, but for the villagers? This is supposed to be a fun day for them but look at them,” I pointed at the villagers, all of them standing close to the riverbank with self-made nets and harpoons. Although they looked ready, some of them were looking back at us with anxiousness.
Harriet once explained to me that the villagers couldn’t relax around me ‘casue they believed I was a noble. Since the class system ruled these lands, as serfs, they were aware they needed to show respect to nobles and were worried that their actions might insult them. Nobody wanted trouble with nobles, so it couldn’t be helped that they were worried when I started living here with my party.
At this point, though, the villagers had come to tolerate my presence due to Saori’s efforts to befriend them. They wouldn’t stop walking when I appeared, but speaking and interacting with them was still impossible. That scene with Lorena’s friends was still clear in my mind. Due to this, I couldn’t participate in the fishing itself, unfortunately. It’s always the fun parts that I couldn’t do.
So, Saori was the one to fish for us. We needed more meat to satisfy my cravings, after all. Tasianna had come along with us, but her hatred for humans was still too strong, so she hung out with me as we snacked and sipped tea together. That was when Colwyn and Harriet had shown up with Ellaine.
“Oi, I can see the fish! I can see the fish! Barracuda season is back!” someone acting as a spotter shouted before running back to the main group.
“Saori, catch us a feast, alright!? Lorena, good luck to you and your family! May Themestra, the Goddess of Hunting and Archery, bless everyone in Carine village seeking to feed their families!” I shouted to pump everybody up, causing the villagers and Saori to erupt in cheers as they readied nets and harpoons.
Colwyn asked me before the event began to speak that last sentence. As everybody believed me to be a priestess of Aurena, any blessing I say could motivate the villagers even more. As I already knew about Themestra from my lessons from Tasianna, I already understood what he meant by this despite everybody mostly praying to Aurena and Krunal, the God of Harvests and the Weather.
Themestra was not only the Goddess of Hunting and Archery but also a subordinate Goddess of Aurena and Zephira. The reason why she was serving two origin goddesses was ‘cause, in life, she was a half-elf, half-human who was respected by both elves and humans as one of the best archers during her mortal life. The stories say the two goddesses took her in after her apotheosis; as they couldn’t decide who should take her as their subordinate, Plesia gave Themestra the choice. She chose both goddesses, and that’s how she became who she was today.
As I sat back down on my wooden chair, I noticed Ellaine hiding her open mouth with a fan, looking a bit astounded. “You’ve seen me at my best, Lady Ellaine,” I answered.
I then spread a bit of scale-dust into the air before igniting them, imitating the sparkle of stars. “But this is how I truly am. If I am too vulgar for you, then you may leave. This was supposed to be a relaxing day for me, and I have no intention of acting like yesterday to accommodate you,” I said proudly, before taking out a wooden table and Tasianna’s tea set from my storage.
“W-Was that space-time-?! Ahem,” she stammered, her eyes widening in surprise at my [Storage Magic], nearly break her noble persona before recovering it just in the nick of time. “Well, I would by lying if I said your sudden outburst did not surprise me, Lady Hestia. The image you gave my family yesterday was that of an elegant and refined greifnoble. Seeing you mingle with our subjects is…well, I have visited the villagers twice with my father due to our duty as their lords, but I cannot imagine living here. The smell is foul and nauseating; surely, you must be aware of that, no?”
“Saori, my wolfkin retainer over there, and I are both beastmen. We have finer noses, so yes, I can smell it too clearly. Still haven’t gotten used to it,” I shrugged. “However, don’t try to persuade me to live in your mansion. Instead, what is this ‘greifnoble’ you compared me to?” I spoke, stopping her from offering me to come to her home.
Ellaine pouted a bit but answered my question, nonetheless, “A greifnoble is the highest tier of noble ranks in our kingdom. We have five tiers; greifnoble, magnoble, the clergy, schwertnoble, and knights in descending order of their power and influence. My father is a magnoble, as he is a count. Lord Duke Greenveil possesses the prestigious rank of duke, given to him by His Majesty the King, and is so a greifnoble.”
Curious about the aristocratic system of the Kingdom of Artorias, I continued asking her about the rest of the ranks. In descending order, the ranks would go like this: greifnobles included grand duke, duke, and marquess; magnobles included arcanuess, count, and viscount; the clergy with their priests and shrine maidens; schwertnobles included baron and baronet; lastly, knights were treated similarly to schwertnobles while the rest of their family stayed commoners. Of course, the king and queen stood above them all as royalty.
“Father and mother did mention your ignorance of our land, but to not even know the ranks and tiers is quite surprising. Pray tell, Lady Hestia, do you possibly know how nobles of a lower tier address those of a higher tier?” Ellaine asked me with worry on her face, clearly having no intentions to hide her emotions here.
Once I admitted I did not, Ellaine muttered an “oh my” as she quickly explained it to me. Apparently, if you were a person of a lower social tier and ranking, you were supposed to address a noble of a higher tier with “lord” or “lady” first and then their noble rank with their family name. For example, if I were a baroness, I would have to address Count Helvas with “Lord Count Helvas” instead of how I did it yesterday with “Lord Helvas.”
It wasn’t a law, but an unofficial social rule to show respect to nobles of a higher rank. This was especially the case for a commoner who was speaking with a noble, as some prideful ones could take it as an insult.
Wait, was that the reason why both Barathan and Count Helvas squinted their eyes when I first introduced myself?
Flabbergasted at my total lack of knowledge of this fact, I quickly questioned Tasianna about it. I did notice Colwyn, Saori, and Tasianna abiding by the rule, but it seems Tasianna and Saori both did it ‘cause they copied Colwyn. They didn’t know the reason and thought only “lord” or “count” was enough when I did it.
In other words, this is all Colwyn’s fault! How could he not have informed me about this fact?! Colwyn, what have you done, you Dummkopf?!
Great, I exposed myself. Argh, I should have just asked him about it!
Now beaming a brilliant smile at knowing my weakness, Ellaine continued, “If you wish, I could help you expand your knowledge, Lady Hestia? We are both mages, correct? As mages, we must always seek knowledge just like Istari, the God of Magic and Knowledge.”
“You are a mage, too? I felt mana from your mother, but I didn’t know you could cast spells,” I asked with curiosity.
Showing me a self-mocking smile, Ellaine answered my question reluctantly, “I see…Am I that weak? Ahem, that is beside the point, but yes, I am a mage. Every noble is expected to learn to control their mana, as that is our noble duty. As the descendants of distinguished warriors and mages, we are to harness our innate abilities and high mana pools to gain the strength to protect and serve our kingdom and its people.”
She then proceeded to conjure up a [Earthen Wall], speaking a chant I never had to do myself. When she asked me to showcase my own, I was a bit hesitant about doing it but ultimately decided to do it as I had no reason to not flaunt my abilities. When I conjured my own [Earthen Wall], Ellaine was shocked at seeing me do it without a chant. It would seem her [Chant Revocation] was only level 3. She was stuck at the breakpoint requirement.
There was a silence between us after she saw my spell, perfectly aligned with Tasianna having finished the tea. Ellaine’s maid seemed a bit restless when she saw that, probably feeling a bit uneasy that I was served tea while her mistress wasn’t. It was a bit nostalgic seeing this sight as Tasianna used to be like that too, always fidgeting when Saori had to serve me her tea as she couldn’t in her fairy form.
Unable to keep watching her like that, I called over Barathan and lent him a spare teapot and some of our tea leaves. I sparked a fire for them with my claws and told Barathan they could use it if they wanted to. Barathan bowed deeply, thanking me for my generosity, before beginning the tea preparation with the maid. I also had the chance to learn that Barathan was a water mage as he could cast [Create Water] for the water.
Dunno what’s bugging you Ellaine but…whatever.
She hadn’t said anything since I showed her my [Earthen Wall]. If she didn’t want to speak then it’s fine. We weren’t friends, and her father was somebody I didn’t want to associate myself with too much. So, instead, I just watched Saori and the villagers fish.
“Woah, shit! They broke through!”
“Dammit, a new net! Come on, give me a new net!”
“Ahhh! I got one! Look at this big bugger! Wait! I got a level! I give my thanks to Goddess Aurena and Goddess Themestra for this blessing!”
Woah, it looks more intense than I thought.
The river looked like a cascading waterfall right now, caused by a stream of barracudas and other fish swimming down the river at a rapid speed. None of the villagers were able to stay in the river and had to stand at the riverbank for safety’s sake, as they threw nets and sharp wooden spears into the river, hoping they could catch some fish.
Identify
<Barracuda: A barracuda that has adapted to freshwater. Unlike higher rank barracudas, this kind cannot evolve under normal circumstances. Rank G>
When I was still a [Young Spark Fire Dragon], I did get a taste of some barracuda sashimi when I was stuck in that cave. Those fish were pretty vicious with their long fangs and water attacks. I wasn’t sure but, if this was a migration, then does that mean the barracudas I met in that cave were once participants of this event? I met them somewhere at the end of spring and start of summer, while this migration is happening at the start of winter.
Funnily enough, the villagers seem to be earning experience from catching these fish. Only an extreme minority were actually benefitting from it, so I guess their experience gain was quite low. Still, any level is good, I think.
“Hey, Miss Saori, you’re catching all of them! Leave some for us!”
“Wow, look at this giant bowl. She’s filling it up with fish.”
“Ahhhhhhhh! Sashimi! Nigiri! The spirit of a ryoshi compels me!!!” Saori shouted.
…It seems she’s having fun.
While the villagers were staying by the shore and fishing with wooden harpoons and nets, Saori was standing in the river. Like a grizzly swiping salmon out of the river, she was enthusiastically fishing with just her paws. Erm, hand, I mean.
Similar to a grizzly bear swiping salmon out of the river, Saori was the only one standing in the river, actively catching fish like an animal. The fervor she was putting into this task was remarkable and a bit worrying, considering she was only doing this to refill our meat storage. “Saving on food costs”, would be a fitting refrain for Saori, as I can imagine her excusing herself with it.
Still, the bowl I made for Akasht’s soup was slowly being filled up with fish. I couldn’t see how full it was from this distance, but I could already guess from all the comments and the speed Saori was working. “Ryoshi”, huh? A Japanese word to describe Japanese hunters and fishermen. Yeah, I don’t think any ryoshi have ever fished so…beastly.
Enjoying the sight of Saori letting out a bit of steam, breaking out of her usual personality, I took out some potato, I mean, toffel chips from my storage to snack on. If I had popcorn, you know I would munch on those, too. Being a sunfang dragon makes you hungry, alright?
“Oh, thank you very much, Lady Hestia,” Tasianna thanked me, accepting a toffel chip and bit into it with a crunch, following with me doing the same.
No salt but honey glaze is awesome, too. Sweet~
When I noticed Ellaine looking over at us with curiosity, I offered her a bowl of chips. “If you want some. But don’t get the wrong idea here. I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing this for courtesy’s sake.”
After I demonstrated how to eat a chip as elegantly as possible, Ellaine picked one up and slowly put it into her mouth. After the chip gave out a satisfying crunch, Ellaine’s eyes widened and she placed a hand on her mouth. “What is this…Honey?” she uttered.
“Toffel chips; we made it. Think of it like cupcakes or cookies…wait, do you even know what those pastries are?” She shook her head to my question. “Oh, okay. Well, then think of it as a snack that accompanies tea or any other beverages. It usually is made with salt, but we had none, so we had to compromise with honey.”
Like how simple it was to make potato chips, toffel chips had about the same process. Toffels, the Peolyncian version of potatoes, were tougher and larger than a potato and needed to be cooked longer to attain that soft interior you wanted to bite into.
So, Saori suggested to steam cook the toffels to soften them up first, then I would use wind magic and [Aerokinesis] to thinly slice them up. Meanwhile, Tasianna made a special honey glaze using Belzac herbs and honey according to a recipe she learned from her village. I would then bake them, and finally Saori would apply the glaze coating and set them to dry under the sun.
They used me to steam stuff again…
We did all of this just this morning so there weren’t a lot of chips. Still, I had to say that it was a grand success. I got cake and chips on my side now. I can attain the perfect state of a teenager now, that of a chill slacker in her pajamas. Yes!
“I have a question, Lady Hestia,” Ellaine asked after her second chip. “You mentioned yesterday that you and your retainers made the fragassa cake, like these toffel chips. Were you literal with your statement?”
“Of course,” I answered immediately. “I don’t know how you treat your retainers and servants, but Saori and Tasianna are my friends. Sure, they might technically be my retainers, but, to me, they are my equals. That was why I had that outburst yesterday after your father was audacious enough to suggest such an outrageous idea. I do apologize if I scared you, but I hope you now know why I am not willing to live in your mansion.”
Before Ellaine could respond, I suddenly noticed Saori shouting, carrying a huge barracuda in her arms like a proud fisherwoman.
Identify.
<Moss Stone Barracuda: A freshwater barracuda who lives in rivers with moss stone. The parasite cultivated in moss stone helps the barracuda develop a weak venom they can inflict with their long fangs. Rank F>
It wasn’t massive, like a giant tuna, but it certainly was large enough to feed a family, “Awesome work, Saori! I hope your fish dishes are as good as your meat ones!” I shouted out to cheer for my friend before calming down to look at a shocked Ellaine. “No need to be surprised. I did say you’ll get to know the normal me, outside my dress.”
“O-Oh, I see. I apologize,” Ellaine replied. “Uhm, speaking of dress, now that I look at it, isn’t your skirt a bit too short?”
Looking down at my legs, I couldn’t agree with her statement. Maybe it’s how I’m used to seeing it from k-pop idols, but I didn’t think my skirt was that short, even if my thighs were exposed. Standing up, I put my arms into the sleeves of my robe and buttoned my robe up, covering up my skirt and only showing the ends of my boots.
Proudly flaunting them in front of Ellaine, I spoke to her while twirling my robes, “And it’s gone. I use this outfit for fighting and traveling, so practicality had to be respected. Of course, I’m a girl, so I wanted a bit of cuteness with it.”
Interestingly enough, Ellaine seemed to be quite interested in the design of my outfit now that I explained about it. We were about to start talking about clothing and fashion but…
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!”
…something happened.
“Dammit!” Saori, hearing the scream, threw the barracuda in the bowl and rushed over to the person who cried out. Looking over, I noticed that one of the men had a large barracuda latched onto one shoulder and a wound in one leg, which was bleeding profusely.
Scheiße!
I rushed over, reflexively. Saori managed to remove the barracuda, tearing it off the man’s shoulder and punching it back into the river, where its mangled corpse was dragged away by the stream of fish. Colwyn, noticing me coming over, told everybody to make room for me, so getting to the man was simple.
That’s one of those venomous barracudas, right?! Yeah, [Identify] proved it, he’s poisoned.
“Major Heal!” I cast to stop the bleeding in his leg, restoring it back to normal.
“Oooh! The white grace! The priestess granted him the white grace!”
“That’s the same light she gave us! See everybody! I told you Priestess Hestia can grant it! Look at how his wounds are healing! It’s Goddess Aurena’s mercy!”
While the villagers were erupting in excitement or reverence, whichever it was, I had to draw my attention towards the man, “Sir, you were poisoned by that barracuda. I will now heal you from it but whatever happens, do not be surprised or alarmed, alright!”
“Y-Yes, Lady Priestess! Please heal me, I-I can’t feel my shoulder anymore,” the man uttered in pain, grimacing from the deep wound in his shoulder, which looked like it nearly got torn off.
“Alright, ahem, Hear me, my embers of white
Your form so bright, your warmth so soothing
Burn, naught for who you once were
The Light beckons, seeking your aid
White fire, mend and protect my allies!
Sanctified Blaze!”
A white magic circle attached itself onto the man, before white flames immediately burst out from it, gathering around his bloody wounds. Custom spells could be cast chantlessly with [Chant Revocation Lv. 10], but I didn’t have enough practice to do that realiably. Master Kush told me chanting was there to help the mage concentrate on the spells and prevent misfires. I couldn’t afford to let the spell fizzle out, so I decided to do it slowly but surely.
[Major Heal] could heal his wounds but [Sanctified Blaze] was the only spell I had to cure status afflictions like [Poisoned].
“A-Ah, fir-!” he was about to shout but Saori shut him up with her hands.
“Hey, didn’t you hear what I told you! Are you rejecting a white grace?!” I announced loudly, causing all the villagers to mumble “That’s a white grace?” The only ones who didn’t were those I already had as my “followers”, those that I saved from the bandits, who saw me use both holy and fire magic. Lorena and her parents were among them, and they were supporting me by calming the other down.
Once the man calmed down and understood what I meant, the flames quickly purged the venom out of his body, regenerated his flesh, and then disappeared.
“A-ah, thank you so very much, Lady Priestess! Thank you so very much for your healing! Thank you for the white grace, thank you! Praise Goddess Aurena for bringing you here!” the man thanked me after I healed him.
Overwhelmed by how much he was thanking me, I could only force myself to answer, “Uh, it’s nothing,” while everybody around me began to copy him. The amounts of praise and thanks I received today were insane but it seems like I didn’t manage to get any followers today. It’s ok, it’s not like I’m trying to rush for the milestone reward.
However, what was unnerving was how he and his family wanted to give me their bounty of fish as all their money was stolen by the bandits. Yes, I love taking the winter rations of people who have nothing else to give- Of course, I didn’t take it! But, just like last time, rejecting their generosity seemed to have made them see me in an even brighter light.
“She’s a saintess! She must be! All the other priests and priestess always asked for money!”
“Gracious, so merciful! Lady Priestess, may Goddess Aurena bless your kind soul. Thank you for saving our friend!”
“The ‘Crimson Saintess’! I apologize for being so scared of you for being a beastman! Bless your soul!”
Noooooo, stop it! I don’t want all your fish! Stop it! It’s yours! Keep it!
The chaos was eventually resolved after Colwyn and Harriet got everybody to calm down. In the end, those two told everybody that they will repay me under the orders of Count Helvas. That reminds me, he did mention that the church of Aurena might get angry if I go around healing people and not taking compensation for it. Is this his way to solve that?
Anyway, after what happened, I thought the villagers would stop for the day, but they didn’t. It was their last chance to get meat for winter, so one person getting hurt wouldn’t stop everybody as their own families depended on this event.
My party, on the other hand, stopped. We had enough fish and there were still two more days. Apparently, the larger barracudas wouldn’t appear on the first day of the migration as the smaller, less dangerous, ones were faster and appeared sooner. Things like that [Moss Stone Barracuda] were supposed to come on the third day. To be sure that nobody else would get hurt, we still stayed around, grilling the fish to share with the hard workers.
Ellaine, after a while, went back to her mansion. It seems she had to attend some appointment.
The next morning came, and it was time to say goodbye to the people from another village, the mercenaries, and Master Kush and the other saurians.
“Here, young scale,” Master Kush took out three wooden tablets and gave two to me. “These are instructions for you to train your [Multi-Cast] and [Continuous Cast]. Get them, even if they are difficult for you to get. Make more custom spells and expand your roster of spells. Tasianna, here is a list of custom water spells I know of. Some you have seen me cast but others are from my colleagues at Caedhul. If you can learn the ones you need, you will be able to construct your own ice spells.”
“Thank you so very much, Master Kush,” I replied with teary eyes.
“I give my thanks to you, Priest Kushlek’zar. May Goddess Plesia bless your path forward, grant you with holy water on your quest,” Tasianna bowed reverently. “I will assure you, I will become strong enough to protect my Lady.”
“Ha, unlike to Kush, I can’t give you anything. Sorry, Saori,” Krim-Slak said.
“Ah, do not worry about it. This lesson plan to help me train my magic is good enough, beside, you have helped me a lot with my fighting style. If it were not for you and Grazlahta, I do not think I could have won against Hestia,” Saori said giving the red carnosaurian a handshake.
“Ahh, dammit, I can’t accept this. Hmm, ah! Here, take this,” Krim-Slak then took out a token or something and handed it over to Saori. “If some bastard at the mercenary guild at Firwood gives you or the Princess trouble, show them that token. I bet they’ll remember the pounding I gave them, but I guess you’ll give them even more hell, ha ha ha!”
It was a tearful farewell for me, as those guys gave us quite a lot of help. From a combat standpoint, we got a huge boost in power just from their lessons alone. I still felt a bit annoyed that Master Kush was leaving before I could beat him once in a duel but…we’ll meet again. We will meet again, yeah!
You better hear my name once my Idol job get’s going, guys! Master Kush, Krim-Slak, Grazlahta, Akasht, thank you!
