VII

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

Arc VII Chapter 5

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

1st Aqua Solar XI AAC 753

"... ... ..." Angelika scratched her head, entirely at a loss in the face of her reticent behaviour. "Look, Edelgart, I suppose that you don't want to spar with me, for whatever reason." Her words failed to elicit a reaction. "But that's not how things work here. Erich did his part. And so did Ludolf. I expect the same from you, from everyone, Edelgart. So stand up and fight. You can't just keep hiding behind your doll forever." Her argument held a certain degree of merit, and yet ...

...

...

...

"... ... ..." Aurora appeared from behind her doll. "I can and I will~." Before returning into hiding.

...

...

...

"See, I told you so." Ludolf clicked his tongue in derision, his attention directed at Erich. "The girl is a coward, after all. She was just lucky that time when she beat me."

"..." Aurora furrowed an eyebrow. Lucky? He said. "... ... ..." What a misguided impression.

Erich crossed his arms, merely staring at her. "Maybe ..."

In the meanwhile, a grave sigh escaped Angelika, who was showing signs of exasperation. "Well, to be honest, no matter how much I'm trying, I can't get my head around any of this. I don't get it. Why are you putting on a scene like this? I know a scene when I see one. What's the purpose?" It was a good question, admittedly.

...

...

...

"..." Aurora hesitated, deliberating her options behind the cover of her doll. "Hmm~ ..."

Angelika encouraged her with a merry smile on her lips. "Don't be shy, Edelgart, you can trust Sister Angelika. Tell me, what's bothering you so much?" The knightess extended her hand. Both metaphorically and literally. Her positivity was infectious, much to Aurora's annoyance.

"... ... ..." Aurora closed her eyes, pondering her words to follow, concealing her pronounced lack of enthusiasm. Her cute mask was not supposed to slip. Not at this point. "To be honest, Angelika, I don't think it makes much sense for me to spar with you~."

Angelika tilted her head, maintaining her usual cheerfulness. "How so? Why would you think so?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"..." Aurora responded, her syllables soft, her innocent smile sweet. "What's the point of sparing when you know the outcome already beforehand? So why do I need to fight when I've already lost?"

It was admittedly not her strongest lie, but a lie strong enough to provide a suitable smokescreen. She did not approve of the thought of being forced to lose for the sake of appearance, even when it was a mere, insignificant spar. A humiliating ... A demeaning experience ... An insult to her professional pride. Not that she could say so openly.

Angelika chuckled gently, unaware of her thoughts. "Well, if you put it like that, then there might be some truth to what you're saying, but you miss the point, Edelgart. The purpose of us sparring is so that I can evaluate your capabilities, and for you to learn and reflect. That's the whole point. That's why I'm asking you to fight me. In fact, let me share a secret with you, Edelgart, Erich, Ludolf, something that I've learned the hard way long ago. You only ever improve by fighting those stronger than you, never those weaker."

"... ... ..." Aurora fought hard to suppress her irritation. Angelika spoke the truth. As loathe as she was to admit, the knightess had a point, an excellent point, one which unfortunately did not help her case. They had reached an impasse.

"Now, come, Edelgart, get up! There's no reason for you to keep sulking like this in the corner." Angelika sensed victory was within her grasp. The knightess closed the distance between them to place her hand onto Aurora's little headsie, gently ruffling her fluffy hair. It was insult to injury.

"... ... ..." Aurora continued sulking to the best of her abilities, her cheeks puffed, Dollrora enclosed in a tight hug. "Do I really need to~?"

Angelika nodded without the slightest hint of hesitation. "Yes!"

"..." Aurora tightened her hug. "Like really, really?"

Angelika nodded with even more vigour. "Yes, like really, really."

"Ehm, ..." Aurora remained sceptical, less than excited, less than convinced. "... ... ..."

Angelika sensed her doubts. "Look, Edelgart, what if we strike a little deal? If you get yourself together, I will buy a hot chocolate afterwards." The knightess gave her an unmistakable wink. "Promised."

"..." Aurora narrowed her eyes. Hot chocolate ... Her weakness ... The woman knew her well. She hesitated, yet greed got the better of her. "Four. Four hot chocolates. Two for me. Two for Dolly."

"..." Angelika crossed her arms, grinning. The woman thought that she had her on the hook. Her assumption was correct. "I'm glad that I got your attention, but seriously, you're driving a hard bargain there, Edelgart. Four hot chocolates ... That's another eight kreuzer ... Do you think I'm as rich as the Doge of Vittoria?"

"Hmm ... ... ... Yes~." Aurora deployed her dreaded kitten eyes, her tiny arms tightly hugging little Aurora. Her large, round purple eyes sparkled with hope and expectation. As usual, her tactic proved useful in softening enemy resistance.

"... ... ..." Angelika sighed with a mixture of resignation and defeat. "All right, you win. I'll buy you a hot choco ..."

"Hmm ... ... ..." Aurora intensified her kitten eyes, her cheeks all puffed up.

Another heavy sigh escaped Angelika, forced to make further concessions. "Two hot chocolates afterwards. Not one more. Not one less. How does that sound, Edelgart?"

"Promise~?" Aurora wondered, albeit her question was mostly rhetorical. Angelika would never lie. The woman was a knightess through and through, and her word was her honour.

"Promise~." Angelika nodded, a smile crossing her lips. "Now, get up, Edelgart. As things stand, we've wasted enough time already ..."

"Hey!" Ludolf interrupted them from the sidelines, his voice hoarse, disgruntled. "Another hot chocolate? Seriously? Why ... Why does Dolly Girl get another hot chocolate? All just 'cause she's small and sweet? That's not fair ..." Her fellow adventurer refused to remain silent in the face of mounting injustice.

"Ehm ..." Angelika blinked in confusion, momentarily startled by his sudden outburst. Even then, her jovial attitude and her smile quickly returned. "Well, could it be that you also want a hot chocolate, Ludolf? Should I buy you one as well?"

"No ... I mean, yes." Ludolf nodded, his fists clenched. "I want a hot chocolate too."

Angelika sighed, deploring the pitiful state of her present and future finances. "All right, three hot chocolates then. One for you, Ludolf. One for Edelgart. And another one for her Dolly ..."

"Ahem!" Erich cleared his throat audibly, in a most conspicuous manner, while silently standing apart, his arms crossed. The meaning was evident. To her and to everyone.

Angelika's shoulders slumped in defeat, another sigh of resignation escaping her. "Not you too, Erich ..."

"..." Erich lowered his gaze to feign disinterest, with little success. "Ehm, it's not as if I need one, but a hot chocolate once in a while would certainly be appreciated." Her friend played hard to get, but his message was unmistakeably clear. Childish gluttony had triumphed over reason. Tasty hot chocolate over restraint.

"Would be appreciated ... Obviously, if I'm the one paying for it ... ... ..." Angelika grumbled, her malcontent apparent. "All right, fine, you win. You'll all get a hot chocolate afterwards. Are you satisfied now?"

Everyone nodded in unison. Ludolf nodded. Erich nodded. Aurora nodded. And even little Aurora nodded.

It was another day, and another most glorious victory. Namely, free hot chocolate for her, and everyone else. Albeit, the latter had not been part of her intentions.

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.