For Sorglos, the road that had led to her private outing with the Master was paved with hardship upon hardship. The guild of Yelquchira proudly touted their Master’s supremacy as a core doctrine, and its members never hesitated to use every available opportunity to get closer to him. None of them were about to let a fellow member fool around with their Master without putting up a fight.
Whatever form of sabotage could be construed would be implemented without question. Sorglos knew this to hold true for herself and knew that the same could be said for her guildmates.
Until now, all of this had meant that going out to be alone with the Master was practically impossible. But then someone had had the bright idea of doing away with the very etiquette that only the guild members were familiar with.
The culprit was none other than Laladi herself, the same underdeveloped Alraune that had the pure gall to keep up the lie that she still couldn’t walk all that well by herself. She had, upon finishing up the work assigned to her before anyone else, managed to go out with the Master on a private excursion after finding the other guild members conveniently – or rather, miraculously – absent.
Although to be fair, she had been unfortunate enough to run into the Hero Party almost immediately after leaving, and so she couldn’t truly be accused of having the Master all to herself. All the better, really. Had she found herself truly alone with the Master and then, under the influence of her own recklessness, went on to assault the Master, and in more ways than one…
‘An assured assassination, yes.’
Though the sentence never left her lips, a telling flash could be seen in Sorglos’s eyes. The fact that Laladi was part of the same guild as her didn’t make her assertion the slightest bit less genuine.
Yelquchira never had much appreciation for the idea of friendly bonds. This new train of thought should come as no surprise to anyone. It should, of course, go without saying that Laladi’s rather twisted plans of locking the Master away remained unknown to Sorglos.
As much rage and annoyance as Laladi’s little outing had sparked, let it not be said that it was completely without its benefits. It was the entire reason Sorglos had a precedent to take the Master outside with her, after all. This meant that her long-awaited but until now impossible to achieve ambition of taking the Master out for some private flirting was finally in reach.
“You don’t honestly think Lala’s just gonna accept that, do you?!”
The abject refusal from the girl in front of her – the girl being Laladi, of course – was accompanied by the almost manic movement of her thick green locks. Her face, which under normal circumstances couldn’t be called anything other than adorable, had become absolutely warped as she seethed at Sorglos, her eyes like daggers and her bloodlust on the rise.
Moving back a bit, it’s important to note that the large crest etched on her cheek was characteristic of guild members, indicators of the Yelquchira affiliation. Laladi, who generally never really got along with any of the guild members, had always had an especially volatile relationship with Sorglos.
“Really now, Lady Laladi has no room to talk. Indeed, she left with the Master in tow.”
“That’s different! Lala finished her job before any of you did! She did it with style! It’s what she deserves, that’s all!”
With a self-satisfied giggle, Laladi pounded her fist against her non-existent chest. Sorglos found this odd, seeing how the girl was known for having a bit of a complex when her flat figure was involved. Why would she even bring attention to her chest? Sorglos titled her head in confusion.
“If it’s what you deserve, then I’d say Sorglos deserves the same.”
“What…?!”
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Laladi couldn’t help but stare when she saw just who had decided to butt into their conversation. There, with short, dark hair and a body covered in knight-like armor was Ritter, expressionless all throughout her intrusion.
“N-no way…! But you’re always sticking to the Master like a cat in heat…! Why are you even taking her side…?!”
Laladi’s eyes were saucers at this point. In some corner of her mind, Sorglos deigned to riposte that statement with a comment of, ‘You’re not any better yourself.’ Nevertheless, Ritter’s support for her was unexpected, even for Sorglos herself.
“Indeed, what makes you say that, Lady Ritter? I can’t begin to imagine why, myself. Indeed, this is quite off-putting.”
“I don’t think anyone can deny that Sorglos had a huge hand in getting the Hero Party in one place. Not just them either; the same goes for the grey guild people and the royal knights. I’m acknowledging her efforts, that’s all.”
“Really now… Well, I am indeed grateful for that.”
There was never much variety to Ritter’s expression, at least when she was away from the Master. Sorglos found it impossible to get a read on her. Perhaps it would be more advised to accept good tiding when they came, she thought.
“Urrrrgh…! B-but that doesn’t mean the others are gonna be fine with it!”
Laladi was in a bad place now, even as she made her claim. Sorglos decided then and there to finish her off with one last bit of input. What Laladi had said might have held true for Vampir, refined as she was, and just as much so for Kühling. Even Schwald, who had a tendency to pout quietly when things didn’t turn out her way, had raised her objections before. But still…
“I’m afraid that I’ve already been given permission by Lady Anat, indeed.”
“Say what…?! Lala means… what?”
The notion that Anat, the – sort of – mediator of their group had approved of this idea threw Laladi for a loop. She didn’t have the slightest inclination of bowing to her whims, of course she didn’t, but Anat’s decisions were never without purpose, and more often than not representative of a majority opinion. This could only mean that a large number of guild members had, for whatever reason, decided that having Sorglos go out with the Master would be a good idea.
“Y-you were already idiots to Lala, but she never thought that everyone but her and the Master was this much beyond help… Oh, Master… Don’t worry… Lala’s going to save you from these idiots…”
“Indeed, you can be rather hurtful at times, Lady Laladi…”
Laladi had dropped to her knees at this point, her dainty fingers intertwined and her gaze to the heavens. She could almost see the Master’s smile pictured against the ceiling.
“Ah, right. Much obliged, Lady Ritter. You’ve been of much help, indeed. I doubt she would have given in otherwise.”
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Ritter had already been on her way to the door, her interest in any altercation between Sorglos and Laladi having already fizzled out, but that didn’t hinder Sorglos from at the very least offering her thanks. Just as a front, of course. Deep down, she didn’t feel even the smallest twinge of gratitude.
“…Don’t worry about it. When it’s my time, well… you know.”
“…”
That’s what you get… Hidden from sight by virtue of a mere cloth, Sorglos’ mouth became twisted and malformed with rage. Of course, she should have known that Ritter… Well, that everyone here wasn’t about to offer any assistance out of pure goodwill.
Nobody was about to lift a finger unless it meant that it would bring them some kind of profit. Not even if one of their own guildmates was about to kick the bucket during a fight. For Ritter, this came in the form of assistance should she ever find herself in a situation similar to what Sorglos was going through now.
“…But of course, yes.”
Sorglos gave a little nod, if only to save face. She couldn’t deny that Ritter’s backup had been to her benefit. And she couldn’t exactly claim that she had any intention of giving Ritter aide if she were in her shoes, either.
“Well then. Time to be off, I suppose.”
Once Ritter had left, Sorglos made her way towards where she knew the Master to be. Opting to leave Laladi to her kneeling and senseless mumbling, she too left the room behind.
◆
Sorglos was in unaccustomedly high spirits. The only times she ever felt this ecstatic came about whenever she had the honor of looking after the Master from the shadows all day long.
The only reason for her current mood was the fact that she had a chance to be alone with the Master, even though they were going outside. She strode along the hallway, humming a cheerful little tune to herself…
“…Tche.”
…only to pick up on an unwanted presence. Someone who irked her much more than Laladi ever could. Acting on nothing but impulse, she flung a kunai in the direction her senses told her this person was.
“Whoa! You really scared me there, sheesh…”
She never felt the pleasure of hearing flesh being torn apart. Instead, her ears were forced to endure a voice that carried a strangely refreshing tune. While anyone else would have been overcome by joy at the mere sound of this voice, Sorglos wasn’t susceptible to its allure in the slightest.
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“…What do you expect me to do when I see someone sneaking about in a guild they don’t even belong to? It’s only natural, it is.”
“Please, you totally knew it it was me.”
“Hm… All the more reason, really.”
Limil drew closer, grinding into Sorglos with her elbow good-naturedly and completely sucking her up into her own pace. This was the kind of person who might overhear the term ‘personal space’ and go on to ask if it tasted any good. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the almost perfectly sculpted nature of her physical features was enough to drive Sorglos up the wall.
She had long, lustrous black hair that almost seemed to reflect her pure nature. It swayed with every graceful step she took, bewitching even other women with its beauty. Not Sorglos, of course – she only felt the urge to rip out every last strand.
Her eyes were large and round, her face as expressive as it was lovely to look at. Even Laladi, who was known for looking cute – at least, when she was with the Master – couldn’t hold a candle to her; Limil had a certain maturity that Laladi sorely lacked.
Another aspect of her figure that was quick to draw attention would have probably driven the likes of Laladi and Krankheit insane… a bosom so ample that the two aforementioned souls would have gladly twisted them off. Even Sorglos, who was usually above these petty size-based disputes, couldn’t help but feel just slightly jealous of this endowment.
Their sheer volume surpassed even Kühling, and she had the largest out of anyone in the whole guild. To add further insult to injury, she still managed to hold herself to a decent style.
“Hm? What’s wrong? Wait, don’t tell me. Did you just get a thing for me too? It’s not just the Master anymore?”
“I’ll have you know that there’s no room in my mind for anyone but the Master, indeed.”
“I figured.”
This was followed by laughter.
“So? What brings you here, Lady Limil? This place is for guild members only. Indeed, I believe I warned you that I’d kill you if I found you here again.”
“Eheheh… I just came by to the Master’s place. You know, to hang out. The Master’s great, isn’t he? So fun! And nice!”
“Indeed! That is indeed true; it is indeed! The Master is wonderful.”
Despite the insinuation at certain death, Limil praising the Master was all that was necessary for her high spirits to return. Stuffing away the kunai, Sorglos proceeded to sing the Master’s praises, her eyes glazing over.
“Well then, guess you won’t mind if I go pay him a visit.”
“…and anyway, that makes him great too! Oh, but if there’s something I absolutely have to recommend, it’s seeing him from behind. He’s so robust! I just have to stare at his back from the shadows, and already I feel at ease, like he might protect me from anything…!”
With a laugh, Limil went on her merry way. She didn’t want to overindulge in the risk of the other guild members finding her out, after all.
Sorglos continued her stream of praises exalting the Master despite the lack of an audience. This would continue for several hours.