Chapter 51: Prelims Day 3 (Part 5)

[How is the Roast Karas? I hired a master chef to attend to our family while we stayed in this city, he came highly recommended by Jim actually. Both for his skill and his discretion. We don't have to worry about any sudden surprises.] - Grampa Richard

[Ah! R-Right it's delicious.] - Rose

[I could tell, given how you're tearing into it I nearly thought we were dining with a wildwoman. Have you forgotten all of your etiquette training while you were messing about in a forest?] - Grandma Daisy

[Momma...] - Lily

Biting into my 3rd helping of what I'd learned was called Karas I was called out by my Grampa for my opinion while Grandma scolded me for my lack of manners. I guess in the time I'd been roughing it, all while getting food withheld from me whenever I failed, had caused me to be a bit possessive and unseemly while eating. I'd have to fix that if I wanted to avoid repeating etiquette training... again. Momma, who seemed to be asking Grandma for leniency with her eyes changed her mind upon seeing the hard look on her face. She didn't do anything other than weakly call out to her.

Shuddering in fear at the idea of going through that fresh hell once more I slowed down the rate I have been tearing into the meal and straightened my posture like the proper lady I was. Glancing down at the travesty that was my eating area I grimaced in shame before quietly asking for a clean plate from a bowing maid.

Karas, a bird-like creature resembling a mixture between a turkey and a reptile was about the size of a medium sized dog. Approximately 3 feet tall it was covered in feathers similar in style to a chicken but instead of a beak it's mouth was instead filled with teeth and it's tail was a long, whip-like thing that was covered in long feathers and looked useful for flying. Supposedly they had once been able to petrify prey with venom but generations of domestication had caused them to become basically harmless. Ironically they were still aggressive though and would attack anyone they weren't familiar with, swarming them with numbers. This made raising them a smart investment since they would only be passive to their owner and could protect themselves from most predators, both intelligent and not.

[Karas huh... Seems like a cockatrice to me honestly...] - Rose

[Hmm? What was that?] - Robert

[O-Oh it's nothing Papa.] - Rose

[Right right, well now that we're eating we should probably move on to what your role will be in this operat....] - Robert

[Why is she even being pulled into this!?! I say we pull the plug now and send someone else to face the Prince! Why does it have to be my baby?!?] - Lily

[M-Momma?] - Rose

[Honestly I would have agreed with you if I hadn't seen our grandbaby for myself. When Jim told me his loyalists had approached Rose, initially I was going to stop her from being involved at any cost...] - Grampa Richard

[Then why don't you te...!] - Lily

[However! Jim, no... King Nero is correct in thinking that our best chance for success lies with our little Rose.] - Grampa Richard

[Why?!?] - Lily

[Can't you feel it? I know you are still able to sense mana as you used to and Rose is practically radiating it. Actually on that note can you tone it down a little, the help is having a hard time holding up under your pressure.] - Grandma Daisy

[...? What was that...?] - Rose

My head, mirroring a American Football Bobblehead figure, was bobbing back and forth, following each speaker. Apparently it seemed like my involvement really wasn't expected in this event, I knew Momma had already said that previously but from what it looks like they hadn't yet even found a competitor that they were planning on using at all. My own involvement had been as last minute as was even possible. Maybe they had been planning on pulling in some random competitor originally, hell considering what they were planning to do it was likely Karen was the one they were originally planning to pull in. Irritated at the thought that I was originally going to be left out while the rest of my family risked their lives I felt the anger I was now constantly living with rearing it's ugly head. Pushing against my inner mind with all the force of a stormfront it took all I had to control myself which is why I missed the rest of their back and forth conversation.

Silence fell as I glanced up from the plate I had been absentmindedly picking at during my self-meditation I realized that I had been asked a question while I was getting my overwhelming anger under control. Quickly leaving the rest up to Logic I asked them to repeat the question I had missed.

[I said you're putting off too much mana and the maids are having difficulty staying conscious. Pull it back a little.] - Grandma Daisy

[O-Oh right! S-Sorry about that!] - Rose

[Are... you okay baby girl? You seem distracted?] - Robert

Realizing immediately what Grandma meant by what she said I nervously glanced around at the various maids that were nearly unconscious at this point. Many of them were even already slumped against the furniture and walls and all of them had extremely pale complexions. Hurriedly I wrangled in my emitted mana, ever since my training I had started constantly releasing more mana than I could unconsciously control leading to the current problem where untrained individuals would be unable to withstand the pressure for long. I needed to get this dealt with quickly before I seriously hurt someone, same with my boiling anger. Logic wouldn't be able to continue being an effective leash for too much longer at the rate it was growing. Once more realizing that I'd been asked a question I stuttered out an answer after a moment.

[I-I'm fine, I'm just a little d-distracted.] - Rose

[That IS what your father said. I think the implied question is what exactly you were distracted by.] - Grandma Daisy

[O-Oh right... It's just a training problem, I-I have it under control... I think.] - Rose

[Hmm... Well whatever, we WILL talk about this later however. Honey why don't you continue with what our little grandbaby will be expected to do now that OUR baby understands us. Do I make myself clear Lily?] - Grandma Daisy

[I-I do Momma, I'll stop interrupting.] - Lily

[Good, go ahead Richard.] - Grandma Daisy

[Right, well to be honest while your job is one of the most important it is also the least complicated. Simply speaking your job is just to keep the Prince occupied enough that he doesn't realize that his forces are being neutralized. It's preferred that you defeat him but if that's impossible keeping him distracted for long enough to silence his loyalists will be fine. Jim has also let me know that while it's not the ideal result he's fine with you fighting with the intent of killing him. The situation is too serious to hold back and risk making a mistake.] - Grampa Richard

[Wait those Judges told me the same thing but is King Nero really okay with me killing his oldest son?!?] - Rose

[Honestly...? No. He's still his father, regardless of the path his son has gone down, even though he wants to kill his own father, he still doesn't want him to get hurt. I've known Jim since he was a child, I was present when each of his children was born and I know when he's holding back his own personal feelings for what is right. He's sacrificing his feelings so that his people can continue to live their best lives.] - Grampa Richard

[....] - Rose

[I know. I don't like it either but what Prince Julias wants to do will only tear his own country apart, allying with the Church is his goal as far as we can tell and I don't need to tell you what will happen if he does so.] - Grampa Richard

[He'll kick out all Demi's and end up a puppet state of the Church...] - Rose

[Correct.] - Grampa Richard

[Wait why can't you just take him out? I'm not sure how powerful you two are but you're definitely stronger than any forces of the Prince right?] - Rose

[Hah... You'd be right but...] - Grampa Richard

[We have another part to play during the mission.] - Grandma Daisy

[Right, and we wouldn't be able to fight inside the city without causing unacceptable collateral damage.] - Grampa Richard

[Jim actually forbade us from participating in any fighting within any city within his country several years ago...] - Grandma Daisy

[That whelp even made sure to remind us about that agreement before sending us to deal with suspected reinforcements outside the city, we actually have to leave today to make it on time so we'll be too far away to help if something goes wrong.] - Grampa Richard

[M-Momma? Papa?] - Rose

[U-Umm we're going to be leading our own soldiers to deal with our own targets...] - Robert

[I'm sorry baby! I'll talk with that meanie Laura! She can separate my cold dead body from my baby girl! Just try and stop me!] - Lily

[Lily! Stop this shamefulness! You are a member of the venerable Amchier family so act like it! I understand that you are concerned about your daughter, I am the same way. However I trust in the ability of my family to take care of themselves. What about you?] - Grandma Daisy

[Uoooouu... B-But I! But I! I can't lose heeeeeer! I can't bear to lose her again! Uwaaaaa!] - Lily

After being told for the second time that killing the Prince was acceptable if no other option was available I couldn't help asking Grampa how a father could possibly be okay with something so horrible. His answer, filled with emotion, completely silenced any response I could have possibly have. The stakes of what was happening here were so high that even the death of the King's son was an acceptable loss. As a modern person, previously at least, the idea that family was something that could be sacrificed for any price was a completely foreign to me.

Realizing just how serious this was I suddenly thought about how powerful my grandparents must be, couldn't they just end this entire thing before it even started? Or at least that was my hope, but reality is never that nice and while they were both powerful enough to defeat both the Prince and his army, from what they hinted, it seems that if they did so many more people would die as a result.

Starting to panic at the idea that I might have to kill someone on purpose, even if it was only a possibility, I turned to my parents for help. Only two words left my mouth but the look in my eyes left no room for misunderstanding and Papa squirmed under my gaze before dropping the bad news that they'd also be unable to help her in any significant way. It was at this point that Momma broke down into tears, unable to hold herself back any longer as she protectively hugged me to her body while wrapping her tail around mine.

[Quick! I'll take the one on the right, you take the left!] - Moon

[Got it!] - Tomboy Bunny-kin

It had been nearly an hour since they escaped their cages and in that time Moon had found 5 other warehouses filled with other Demi's waiting for sale. During their rescue they hadn't met a single other guard and as such had grown to quite a large number, most of them useless in a fight but some were similar to her in that they knew how to defend themselves. One such person was a tomboy Bunny-kin named Judy, over 6 feet tall and built like a brick shit-house Judy was far stronger than the rest of the captives to the point that it was now only the 2 of them taking on each guard while using everyone behind them as backup.

Dodging blood from the most recent guard she had gutted she was amazed that they still hadn't sounded any kind of alarm in all this time, only alerting those that stumbled upon them while patrolling. Quickly taking up a stance Moon gestured for the group behind her to take the weapons from their newest kills, hearing an excited laugh she turned just in time to see the Amazonian Bunny-kin strangle the much smaller human while lifting him above her head. The poor man stood absolutely no chance against the berserker bunny.

[Hah... You know you'd be the ideal party member if you didn't play around with your opponent so much...] - Moon

[Tch! Dead already huh? Hmm? Oh right I guess I've been told I enjoy battle too much before, it's what led to me being captured in the first place actually.] - Judy

[Then why don't you calm down a little?] - Moon

[I can't help it! Something inside me just relishes causing my foes pain! Seeing the life flow from their eyes get's me so... Haaahn!] - Judy

[Gross. Anyway so I guess this is the 6th warehouse and still no sign of any children?] - Moon

Disgusted by the look on the athletic Demi's face I let out a sigh before weakly scolding her for her exuberance. Judy for her part gave a look of dissatisfaction before reacting to my comment with a acknowledgment. Ironically I HAD been curious how the powerful bunny-kin could have possibly been captured in the first place so her response cleared up the suspicions I'd been harboring against her, I originally had wondered if she was perhaps some deep undercover spy since I couldn't imagine these bandits being powerful enough to actually subdue Judy but hearing that she had been distracted while killing one of them, at least that's how I assume it went down, made me start to open my heart more.

Of course this begs the question as to why she continued doing something that had led to this result and when I asked her that the look on her blushing face made me immediately regret asking as did her sexual moaning afterwards.

[Right. Hah... Hah... That just means we get to cut loose a little while longer right?!? Right?!?] - Judy

[Yes. I won't leave here until I either find my kids or find out where they've been taken.] - Moon

[Hah... In that case we head upwards, the boss will be near the top and he'll know more than any of these... trash...]  - Judy

[Lead the way then, we'll...] - Moon

[E-Excuse me!] - Foxy Lady

[Hmm...? What's up?] - Moon

[S-Shouldn't we escape while we can? While you two are fighters the rest of us are just normal people.] - Foxy Lady

[If you want to leave go ahead. The exit is probably down the stairs.] - Moon

[B-But aren't you going to protect us?] - Foxy Lady

[Listen lady we were prisoners just like you, we have absolutely no obligation to protect a bunch of weaklings if they want to run with their tail between their legs instead of trying everything they can to help other people in the same situation. You have weapons. Use them or shut up.] - Judy

[Eep!] - Foxy Lady

[Listen, while the wall of muscle besides me has a point she went a bit far. We ARE heading upwards to "talk" with the boss of this place, you can either come with us and rescue anyone we meet along the way or risk it by heading for the entrance by yourselves. Either way your life is your own, I have neither the ability or interest in saving anyone that won't try and save themselves.] - Moon

[...] - Everyone

[Well?] - Moon

Still squirming from excitement Judy suggested that we continue upwards only for us to be interrupted by the Fox-kin lady from before, still cradling her stomach feebly. Hearing out her question though just made me irritated at her lack of ability to do anything for herself, it was like she was expected us to continue protecting her forever. I had my own goal of saving my two little ones and as long as the group stayed together I'd do my best to take on our attackers, I was not obligated to abandon my goal for theirs however and while the rest of the group was fine continuing to follow the two of us, a few were nervously glancing back down the hallway towards the downward stairwell. Luckily most of the group just gave the selfish Fox-kin dirty looks while arming themselves with our looted weapons.

My answer wasn't good enough for her apparently and she continued pressing the "protect us" angle only to shrink back in fear from the battle-crazed Bunny-kin girl as she told her to either help them or leave. Sighing at the rough explanation from the surprisingly eloquent warrior in front of me I clarified that I was going to head towards the boss whether the rest of them followed or not. Turning my back on the group we started walking before turning back one more time to ask whether they were coming. Nodding slightly to each other the group stepped forwards, leaving behind a few of their number that grouped up to watch us ascend the stairs. Surprisingly the Foxy Lady was not among their number as she had glanced back and forth a few times before following after ours instead. If their luck held we might meet again but I wouldn't hold my breath.