Avilia turns her head slightly towards me. “Um, Irene.”

The two of us are walking towards Karine’s magic shop, hoping to shed some light on whatever it is that’s going on in this village. We haven’t seen her on the street yet, so we can only assume she’s still there.

I look at Avilia. “What is it?”

“There is something I have to tell you. This is probably not the best time but it cannot wait.”

What?

“Alright? We’ll probably have time after we’ve talked with Karine. Why not wait until then?”

“I think I will not be able to say it if I do not say it now. But we can talk about it more afterwards, right?”

I nod. What’s so important that it can’t wait?

While matching my speed, she moves a little closer to me. She’s blushing. Her heart rate is climbing. Like she’s preparing to reveal something profound.

A whisper.

“… I love you too.”

She… What?

I definitely heard what she said!

I can’t stop it. I feel the heat in my face. I know I’m blushing now too!

Sadly, we’re at the door to Karine’s shop. Focus! One thing at a time! This isn’t the time to get flustered!

“Okay,” I say with what I can only assume is a very wide smile on my face, “We’ll definitely have to talk about it later.”

Avilia nods, looking considerably relieved. As if a rock has been removed off her shoulders.

I open the door and Avilia, as per usual, goes in first and I follow.

Got to concentrate.

“Oh, hi you two!”

Karine’s standing behind the counter with a small crate in front of her, while Flore’s going through the shelves behind her.

The two of us walk up to the counter, and I can only think of one question right now. “What’s going on?”

“Oh,” Karine starts, glancing at Flore, “We’re just gathering some last knickknacks from the store for the militia. Everything’s happening faster than I thought it would, you know how it is.”

No, I actually don’t. But I nod nonetheless.

Karine sighs while Flore just quietly keeps taking things from the shelves and placing them in the crate. “There’s so much work that needs to be done now. The royals are stretched pretty thin, but they can’t ignore this level of civil disobedience this close to home. And I doubt we can keep this from them for very long.”

“The guards cornered me at the adventuring guild,“ Avilia says, ” I have no idea what would have happened if they had not been stopped. But thanks to your Aunt, they could not lay a hand on me.”

“My Aunt helped you? Oh no,” Karine says with a pained voice and facepalms, “I’ll never hear the end of that.”

“But I doubt it would have ended there if you had not acted quickly and had the rest of the guards apprehended as well.” Avilia does a shallow bow.

“You’re welcome,” Karine responds and shakes her head. “But you shouldn’t thank me. I just suggested they should stop these supposed guards the moment they start causing trouble in the village.”

“Regardless, I doubt I would have gotten away with just a fright without you.”

Karine smiles. “Well, as I said, you’re welcome.”

“So,” I say, “How long have you been supporting the uprising?”

Karine looks at me with a serious expression. “There’s no point trying to hide it anymore.” Another sigh. “Since I first heard about it. They call it a peasant uprising, but it’s not like it’s limited to just the peasantry. And of course we share a common cause with the beastfolk and their supposed rebellion.”

Supposed rebellion? What does she mean by that?

“It’s not really a rebellion?”

“You can’t call resisting genocide a rebellion, can you? They’re literally fighting to survive.”

They’re being systematically exterminated by the state? Somehow I didn’t realize that the situation was that bad.

I nod. Can’t argue with her reasoning. Not that I’d want to either. “I see your point.”

A strained smile appears on her face. “I really didn’t expect things to get to this so fast. I’ve been giving aid to the rebels for a while now. But now I have to take part in it personally, too. I didn’t expect them to...”

“Karine,” Flore suddenly interjects, “This package’s ready.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I made you do all the work.”

Flore smiles, pecks Karine on the cheek and winks. “It’s fine. I’ll just carry this out so you can keep talking.”

“Thank you,” Karine responds with a slightly trembling voice, obviously flustered.

Okay, their dynamic has changed for sure.

Karine shakes her head probably in an attempt to clear her head. “Um, so, where was I?”

She lowers her hands on the counter. “Oh, right. I was just saying that I didn’t expect them to send people here right now. Yes, I thought I had more time. It really shows someone in or close to the royal family doesn’t like my family.”

She taps the counter with her right index finger. “They must’ve found out about our family heirloom being retrieved from town and figured they could steal it for themselves. On the surface it seems completely pointless as the license’s for my family alone. Everyone who’d see it would know it’s not theirs. And there aren’t that many staff makers with enough know-how to use our family secrets with any level of efficiency.”

Avilia decides to give her opinion. “Maybe they just wanted to make sure you cannot start making staves again?”

Karine nods. “That’s what I believe, too. The ones that remain fetch a pretty penny. If we suddenly started making new ones of similar quality again, they’d lose some of their value in gold no matter what. And not everyone’s happy with things having just historical or sentimental value.“

She now drums her fingers on the counter absentmindedly. “That could also explain why they refused all requests to clear the town originally. Back when it would’ve been possible to still just clear the corruption without destroying everything. Now, it’d also be prohibitively expensive.”

They’d do that? Just leave a town to such a grim fate out of spite for one family, and for profit? … Who am I kidding, of course they would. It’s no different to how things were back home. Those with power don’t want to share it with those they don’t think deserve it. Story as old as time.

“Is that why everyone in the village seems to be strangely well trained and well equipped?”

“Yes. When my grandparents’ requests were denied, they lost all trust in the kingdom. They realized if they ever wanted to get the family back to where it rightfully should be, they’d have to do everything themselves.”

“So they made this village?”

Karine nods. “And vetted a population who knew how to fight or at least were willing to learn to fight. They’d be given the equipment and training they need and could live the village life they always wanted without having to deal with the kingdom’s authorities We’ve been doing that ever since. This isn’t exactly a safe place.”

“Of course,” she continues, “That changed a bit with the arrival of the kingdom’s guards. Even if they’re no longer an issue.”

So they’ve had a functional fighting force for years now? A question comes to mind.

“Why didn’t you just take everyone and go get your heirloom?”

“It’s not that simple. Just one moment.” She turns around and grabs something off the shelf, then spreads it open in front of her on the counter.

It’s a map of the local area. It shows the village, the farms around it, the main road and a large portion of the forest, including the ruined town.

She points at the forest. “The forest is filled with monsters and most of the villagers aren’t really trained in forest combat. Many of them might have experience of live combat, but forests make things a lot more difficult.”

That completely skipped my mind. The road to the town isn’t in the best of shapes, either!

She then points at the town. “As for the town’s undead occupiers… They don’t like trespassers. And they dislike crowds, especially. You’re the first living soul to see the inside of that place in decades.”

She raises her hands off the table. “Our best bet was that some experienced adventuring troupe would show up and take on the job, but even those ended in failure. And like I told you earlier, last ones that were willing to try showed up during my Father’s time here in the village. I never would’ve thought someone’d just waltz in with the documents in hand.”

She rolls the map back up. “So you could say the timing couldn’t have been better. A hundred or so people couldn’t fend off the kingdom on their own, but as part of an uprising, I think we have an actual chance. Even though they have a summoned hero on their side, I truly think we have a fighting chance.”

“What are you fighting for, exactly?”

“The dissolution of the monarchy and the aristocracy, of course.”