For the third time in Haven, Seiji cursed his lack of a dagger. He observed himself for what felt like the hundredth time in the glass door of the dorm building’s entrance. After all the time they’d spent in Keres’ Clothes, the stylists decided to leave him with a form-fitting white dress shirt, black slacks with gold accents, and shiny black shoes. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbow to draw more attention to golden bracelets on either wrist, a golden watch on his left arm, and black gloves. The stylists insisted his outfit would match Cora’s, but Seiji couldn’t help but wonder whether that would be the case.
Seiji heard the clomping footsteps of the horses pulling the familiar carriage before he saw it in the glass door’s reflection. The moment he turned, he was tackled by the one person he’d been so desperate to see again.
“Seiji!” Cora cried. “Finally! It’s been too long! Every two seconds I have to sign a paper or talk to some person or get sized for some set of armor or something!”
Seiji wrapped his arms around her head. It felt a bit impersonal, but he didn’t want to crush her new wings. It was how Akio hugged Endora, and now he understood why.
“You look beautiful, Cora,” Seiji said, looking down into Cora’s lavender eyes. She wore a ruffled white dress with white thighboots.
“Thank you!” She smiled. “You look quite handsome your–”
“Forgive me for my intrusion, but there is a tight schedule. We must be going.” The butler called.
Cora rolled her eyes and pulled Seiji into the carriage. Seiji followed her in, still dazed by her beauty. She really did look good. But there was so much he wanted to say. So much he wanted to do. He’d been waiting to be with her all day, and now that they were together, he was speechless.
As though she could read his mind, Cora broke the stalemate.
“So, who picked that outfit for you? Was it Thea?”
“I-I picked it myself,” Seiji stammered. He’d been focused on a drinking competition happening at a food cart they passed by.
“Ah, is ‘myself’ a friend I’ve never met before?”
Seiji turned to her in mock outrage. “What makes you think I couldn’t pick an outfit like this?”
“First, it isn’t battle-oriented. Second, it isn’t loud. Third, the stylist I sent to your room told me that you had already picked an outfit.” Cora counted off with her fingers as she listed her points.
“I went with Lirio,” Seiji relented. “The stylist let me have it for free but said I needed to wear it to the Dinner tonight.”
Following his admission, the two went back and forth about what they’d been up to the past few days. The most notable thing Cora mentioned was her meeting with Selene’s family. According to her, they were “blubbering messes, but in a cute way.”
That ended up leading Seiji to another point that’d been needling him for a while. He’d been wondering why Cora wanted Selene and Lirio as Servants and not anyone else.
“They made us work. If they hadn’t been in the competition, we would’ve gotten complacent. With them still here, they’ll remain our rivals. I bet they’re training as we speak.”
“Is that why they aren’t with us?”
Cora placed a hand on his as they approached the familiar red carpet of Athena’s Antichamber.
“We’ll have plenty of events with them in the future. Today, though, I want to celebrate with you.”
Seiji felt Cora grip his hand as they entered Athena’s Antichamber. The restaurant had been rearranged to house a large table in the center with only two seats. All around them were white-winged Valkyries and Servants Seiji had never seen before. Some of them looked old enough to be his grandparents, while others looked as young as Seiji and Cora themselves. The king and queen sat at the center of the C-shaped table, closer to the elevator than the entrance. Endora sat at the very end, her gold wings sticking out even more in contrast to the white wings of the other women in the room.
“Hey,” Cora whispered into Seiji’s ear. “You see the green-haired elf woman next to Endora? That’s Valkyrie Carissa. She’s the one that beat Endora in her–”
Endora speared Cora with a smile that was a bit too wide. Cora waved, clearly having decided it best not to finish her statement.
Despite all of the Decorum Training he’d been through, the Valkyrie Dinner was one of the most awkward experiences of Seiji’s life. He sat beside Cora who faced the opening of the C-shaped table and picked at an assortment of spiced meats and seasoned vegetable dishes. Well, he would’ve liked to eat the food, but every second another Valkyrie and Servant approached them to give their well-wishes and advice about life outside of Haven. Queen Eir and King Vassilis were among the last ones to greet them, and hardly said anything to the two of them. Instead, Queen Eir extended her wings to cover them as King Vassilis told them to use the opportunity to eat. Seiji appreciated it, but not as much as Cora, who’d gone on to scarf down her entire plate. When Queen Eir lowered her wings, she patted them both on the head and gave them the warmest smile Seiji had ever seen from the woman. King Vassilis did the same, and the two walked off.
When Endora and Akio approached, Seiji was surprised to find himself overcome with pride as the Valkyrie and Servant smiled down at them. Sure, Akio came closer to the halfway point, but Endora had been there with them from day one… literally. Seeing her proud smile made everything happening here feel all the more real.
“Congratulations you two!” Endora said. “I knew you two would do it!”
“If you didn’t we’d have to kill you for wasting our time,” Akio laughed.
Seiji and Cora both laughed, but Cora spoke up before he could. “I promised you two I would join you, and now I will.” She bowed from her seat in a way that almost looked Ardorian. Seiji followed her, already knowing what she was about to say. “Valkyrie Endora, Servant Akita, thank you for your assistance during the Valkyrie Exam.”
Endora looked around at the staring Valkyries and Servants before whispering for them to rise a bit too quickly. They did, and Seiji made sure to commit Endora’s awkward look to memory.
“Alright,” She said, shaking herself. “Cora, I have a question for you.” Her face gave an intensity Seiji only saw from her a few times. It wasn’t Dominion, but something different. Something deeper. “What did you see when you transformed?”
Seiji turned to her, his own curiosity piqued by the question. To his knowledge, Seiji didn’t think she’d see anything. When her face shifted through many emotions, he’d assumed she was just replaying her memories of the Exam at a rapid pace due to the Dream Aura the king and queen released.
“Ah, it was interesting!” Cora began, gesturing animatedly as she spoke. “I was in a vast field just like the Grand Garden, except there was a single stone pathway that went on forever. When I started walking down it, a white light began to rise from the horizon. Once I approached it, I saw myself, but it wasn’t me. Well, it was me, but she was dripping Dominion. She was taller than me and looked at me like mother does when she’s in combat. I nodded to her, and she nodded to me and smiled a little. I guess she was giving me her approval? Anyway, I entered the light, and the next thing I knew, I was back in the arena.”
Seiji noted that Endora and Akio both paled at the same time when Cora mentioned seeing herself. They adjusted quickly, but were still dazed by something. When Cora finished her story, the Valkyrie and Servant exchanged a glance before smiling down at Cora and congratulating her.
I can’t afford to get into that now. I’m confessing tonight, but…
“When Cora leaves for her vacation with the queen, you two are gonna explain what that was about, right?”
Cora gave him a confused look, but Endora narrowed her eyes for a moment. She sighed.
“It’s… Akio is more equipped to tell you than I am.” Akio nodded, and Endora smiled. “But not right now. Today is your day! We can get into the big stuff once we’re all settled!”
“Right,” Cora said, eyeing Endora suspiciously.
“Cora, I’ll tell you too. You need to know for our mission to happen. Enjoy your break. Once it ends, it’s work time!”
“Alright. Thank you for trusting us, Endora.”
The Valkyrie nodded. With that, she and Akio turned and left, leaving Seiji alone with Cora at their table. They’d finally spoken to every Valkyrie and Cadet in the room. There were no events to go to. No more formalities. He smiled as a wave of possibilities crashed over him. Seiji had come to learn he was fairly sentimental. While he did want to confess to Cora, he didn’t want to do it just anywhere. He wanted to do it somewhere special to them.
The gazebo at the Grand Garden! It was the first place we opened up to–
“Oh yeah!” Cora called out of nowhere. “I promised the vendors near the Coliseum Portal that I’d help them with a few things tonight. You wanna come? It should take an hour or so.”
***
The rest of the Valkyrie Dinner was rather uneventful. After they ate, Seiji and Cora were free to do whatever they wanted. It was nighttime, and while the streets were still packed, they weren’t nearly as crowded as they were in the morning. Seiji walked hand-in-hand with Cora through the streets of Haven while Seiji did his best not to show his frustration.
I should be confessing right now. I shouldn’t be here.
“The vendors are over there,” Cora said, pointing to a row of vendors beyond a patch of grass.
On the patch of grass were two familiar people Seiji didn’t think he’d ever see again. They wore silver armor with chainmail at the joints like medieval knights, and they were in the middle of running around the grass while a group of children dressed in Exam clothing chased them around with toy swords.
Wait a minute. Two rights and…
Seiji looked to his right and found it. A small building with the Lambros Family crest emblazoned on the door. He stifled a mischievous smile as gears began to work in his brain.
“You go on ahead, Cora. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
“...Alright,” Cora said in a questioning tone. She clearly read something in his face, but Seiji had no time to explain himself. If this was going to work, he needed to move quickly.
“Alexandros, Alexandra!” Seiji called to his silver-armored friends.
“Look,” Alexandra called. “It’s the hyena!”
The children booed at him, some pointing and assaulting him with childish insults. Seiji did his best not to look offended. How long had it been since the Botanist’s Bond Event? Weren’t children supposed to move on quickly?
“Alright, you guys,” Alexandros said, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Alexandra and I need to talk with Servant Otsuki, ‘kay? Wait for us over there?” He said, pointing to the edge of the small garden.
The children agreed, running off and continuing their play fighting from earlier.
“What’s the story here?” Seiji asked. “Did Sir Lasko recruit you two?”
Their eyes lit up at the same time the moment he mentioned Sir Lasko. Seiji had a feeling they’d been in his sights for a while now. It would explain why they looked so disinterested during the Final Exhibition, and why they did their best to look serious every time he’d look at them on the stage. Alexandra was the one to confirm his suspicions.
“Yeah! Boss said he was “worse than us” when he was a kid,” She said in an oddly accurate imitation of Sir Lasko’s gruff voice.
“Yup, he said he’d train us up if we lost the Valkyrie Exam, so we decided to lose,” Alexandros added.
Seiji tried hard not to grin like a madman. It was time to set the plan in motion.
“How fun is it? Being a Royal Guard, I mean.”
“It’s alright,” Alexandros shrugged. “We have to sit through this boring ‘Decorum Training’ thing every morning, then we have to go on patrol duty in this hot ass armor.” Alexandra nodded her agreement.
“What are your goals here? I’m sure there’s a reason you two are enduring it despite how boring it is.”
Alexandra sighed. “Yeah, we just wanna be like Dori–... Sir Lasko. He’s super cool! He can read minds and manipulate souls and shit. Who wouldn’t want to do that?”
Alexandros patted Alexandra on the head. “We’ll get there, lil sis. We just gotta like, pay our dues and shit, you know?”
“I guess.”
“You know, I think you two might get him to notice you if you show off your strength a bit.”
The Twins brightened at that. They leaned closer, inspecting Seiji as if for the first time. Alexandra put her hands on her hips and gave him a conspiratorial look.
“How do you say we do that?”
Seiji grinned like a madman.
His plan was simple. He’d convince the Alex Twins to join him in a fight, get them to use a bit too much energy and cause a negligible amount of damage, and – in the ensuing confusion – he’d Veil himself and Cora and hide with her in Sir Lasko’s office to finally have some sort of alone time. It was a perfect plan, and the Alex Twins were the perfect subjects. Like clockwork, they agreed to join him on his plan and called for the children to gather round for the ensuing fight.
Everything started fine. Seiji moved slowly, clearly telegraphing his attacks while the Twins did the same. Alexandra would cry out in mock pain, Seiji would pretend to wince, Alexandros would roar in outrage, and the children would laugh and cheer all the while. That was how things went for a while, until Seiji casually slammed Alexandros with a fully powered punch. His Strength was still just a 35 so it wasn’t debilitating or anything, but Alexandros did let out a genuine cry of pain.
“Still mad about the Hell Pit, huh?” Alexandros sneered.
“Who knows?” Seiji challenged.
“I hope you know we went easy on you,” Alexandra boasted.
As Seiji had planned, the three of them had begun fighting at full force. While it wasn’t in his plans to spar with them, Seiji did enjoy the training. The children did, too. They cheered like they were in the Coliseum, chanting for ‘Mr. Awesome’ and ‘Ms. Amazing’ to defeat the ‘big bad hyena’.
“There!” Alexandra shouted. She formed a fireball in her right hand and threw it directly at Seiji.
He dodged it immediately and followed its trajectory. Seiji’s eyes went wide as Cora caught the fireball in a fist coated in blue flame. It detonated in her grip, the force of the explosion enough to send the food carts toppling to the ground.
Nobody moved. The children stopped cheering. The Twins stared off in horror. Seiji even froze for a moment, forgetting his plan entirely. Cora looked at the three of them with clear disdain, but that soon turned to surprise as she raised her head. Seiji followed her gaze.
“What is this?” Sir Lasko rasped.
“Boss!” Alexandra called. “Y-you look handsome today!”
“Is that new horn oil?” Alexandros tried. “You look like you could use a back pat. C’mere!”
Sir Lasko ignored them, staring daggers at Seiji.
“Seiji, I expected–”
“Be right back!”
Seiji coated himself in Dragon Fury and activated his Veil Aspect. Gasps sounded from the children surrounding them, and Sir Lasko’s scowl deepened into a full-on frown. Seiji had no time to pay attention to it, though. He turned, grabbed a confused Cora, coated her in Dragon Fury, Veiled her, and picked her up.
“Seiji, what are you doing?!”
“Sorry, Cora!” Seiji said, hoisting her over his shoulder to Sir Lasko’s office. “I’ll explain in a minute!”
