Secret Agent Chapter 096 - Gossip in the Lounge (Patreon)

For the first part of the game, Zack Adder, the secret agent from another world, pumped Delilah of Madame Azriel’s for information about the [Hero].

But she only knew so much, and mainly the public facts.

So, she knew what had been announced the previous night and some of the events of today.

That a [Hero] had been summoned, a man of incredible power and moral character, who was tasked by the Goddess herself, to say nothing of the Pope and the King, to journey forth and slay the [Demon King] for good.

This morning he had left the Royal Castle, paraded to the Grand Cathedral, and he and his [Party] were consecrated and sent forth on their journey, exiting through the Northern Gate, also called the War Gate.

Zack couldn’t help but chuckle as he heard about the [Party] Bradley had put together.

He was a teen boy alright.

There was Rosimund the [Guide], and Maria—now the [Saintess], of course. The core members of the [Party].

But then he had gone and selected only women, and younger women at that, for the rest.

Even, astonishingly…

The Second Princess of the Kingdom, Ruby Forti, as their [Mage]. Delilah called her a prodigy, but that was third-hand information. She couldn’t explain why the red-haired woman was a prodigy mage.

Delilah blundered a bishop, and then a rook as Zack questioned her.

Then, of course, there was Lady Elizabeth Hawkeye. Still an eligible bachelorette, though not in the line of succession for House Hawkeye. She was the [Scout].

And then, to Zack’s surprise, there was another [Scout]. A girl named Anastasia. Delilah’s tone changed, talking about her.

“What is it?” he said as he moved a pawn forward.

Delilah hesitated, both to speak and to take her move. “She just seemed so nervous and uncomfortable, and young… Well, that’s what I heard.”

“Hmm… Do you know what she looks like?”

“Very pale skin, and black hair, is what I was told.”

Zack’s eyes flicked to Vlad, and somehow, every woman present noticed.

Delilah and Jess giggled. Nerezza sighed and shook her head. Vlad was entirely focused on his own chessboard, his position a complete mess, with a hand on his chin and the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth.

Delilah cleared her throat, and then blundered another piece. Zack took it. She winced theatrically.

“And lastly, the [Fighter], an incredibly strong young woman named Su, from Famalfi.” Delilah looked up from the board to meet Zack’s eyes. “She’s an Adventurer, too.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She wields a greataxe of incredible size, that they say requires six grown men to lift from the ground, to say nothing of wielding.”

That rang a bell in the back of Zack’s mind, and feeling relaxed and stable, he decided to use his [Recall] Skill.

And he remembered: on his very first visit to the Guild, there had been a woman at the butchering tables, overseeing the dismantling of some monster, and she had had with her a large greataxe. Freckles, sun-kissed skin, light brown hair and pale blue eyes, and slender.

And once he had the visual, he was able to let go of his [Recall] and return to the present.

Vlad was right.

He had needed this.

And if things went according to the vague idea of a plan in his head, it would become part of his routine. Perhaps not the entire spa treatment, but the massage and lounge, at least.

Delilah had moved, and was awaiting his turn.

“Famalfi?” he asked, moving his own piece. As he did, he [Stifled] a wince, because even as he withdrew his hand he realized he had put his queen piece at risk. A terrible blunder.

But, Delilah ignored it, moving another piece as though she hadn’t even seen the blunder.

Instead, she smiled and focused on the conversation. “I’m told Famalfi is a lovely place. A string of towns and villages nestled along the cliffs of the southern coast, with beautiful weather and plenty of sun all year long, white sand beaches and plentiful fish, and monster attacks are rare…” The olive-skinned woman hesitated a moment. “The people there are happy. Truly they must be blessed by the Goddess.”

Zack rescued his queen, and then pressed Delilah to continue to the story of the fight with the demon.

“Well, the [Hero’s Journey] began precisely on time, not late at all, and they encountered a servant of the vile Beelzebub, and slew it. That was the explosion that rocked the city earlier today.”

Beyond that, Delilah knew little. She blundered another piece, and to Zack’s surprise, that was checkmate. He hadn’t even seen it coming.

“Oh dear, what a good game, Jack. Do you happen to have the [Strategist] skill?”

Zack furrowed his brow.

“No…”

He remembered that Bradley had been summoned with that skill.

And, surprisingly, Delilah blanched for just a moment when he said no.

Wait a second.

Had she thrown the game on purpose?

“Beginner’s luck, perhaps,” Jess said from the side, where both she and Vlad were down to less than a handful of pieces each.

“I’ll fetch you both more refreshments,” Delilah stated.

“The usual,” Vlad said absentmindedly.

“Another taro,” Zack said.

And when she returned, there was another woman with her.

Another woman with long ears, like Madame Azriel.

“Ahh, hello again, Val. You look stunning today,” Vlad said, letting himself be distracted from the board where he was chasing, at best, a stalemate.

Val was tall, with long blonde hair full of gentle curls. She had a friendly smile on her face, and her robe was cinched tight at the waist to highlight her hourglass figure. Her long ears were decorated with a number of earrings, though they all seemed to be clipped on, rather than piercings. When she saw that Zack was eyeing them, she smiled more widely and wiggled them slightly, causing a few danging earrings to sway.

“Hello again, Lordling Vladimir,” she said politely. Then she turned to Zack. “And you must be our [Hero’s] friend, Jack.” She paused a moment, and then raised a finger to her chin and looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, I guess we can’t say that anymore, now that there really is a [Hero]…”

“Vlad will always be our hero,” Jess said. “Checkmate.”

“Oh, drat. I was so close!” Vlad groaned.

No, he wasn’t.

But Zack kept his mouth shut.

Vlad was clearly having fun.

Delilah set out the drinks, and placed another serving of fries and cookies between the two men. Zack also saw that, at some point, Nerezza had been given her own drink, a bright blue something overflowing with mist.

Delilah reset the board while the new woman introduced herself properly.

“My name is Valesistrise,” she said. “But humans have a hard time pronouncing it, so you may call me Val.”

“Which do you prefer, Valesistrise?” Jack asked.

She smiled. “There is an accent on the second syllable. Please, call me Val.”

Zack hadn’t heard that accent at all.

“And when you say ‘human’…”

Val’s eyebrows rose, and her eyes widened. “Oh my, Jack, have you not met an elf before?” She placed a hand on her cheek in consternation. “Oh, meeting Madame Azriel must have been confusing…”

“Really, Jack?” Vlad asked between french fries. “You handled yourself with aplomb.”

Val took a moment to explain, and Zack and Delilah started up another game of chess as she did. Val had been born in the forests north of the Great Bay, where the tribes of the elves lived, and some hundred years ago she had moved south, to Fortinium, to work under Madame Azriel.

“Wait, a hundred years ago?” Zack asked.

“Teehee, yes, us elves are long-lived.” Val giggled.

Delilah interrupted. “I was telling Zack about the [Hero] and his [Party], but…"

“Oh? I happen to know someone who knows someone who’s actually met the [Hero], himself,” Val boasted proudly.

And so Zack was able to learn more gossip.

Maria’s simmering anger about Bradley choosing all women to join the [Party].

Rosimund taking a firmer hand as the [Guide].

The ‘secret’ behind Ruby’s magical prowess: [Supreme Mana Regeneration].

“I remember when she was born, the poor thing…” Val lamented before taking a bite of one of the cookies. “Mind her knight,” she advised, too, before continuing with the main topic. “The King had her [Appraised] immediately, and then sequestered for magical training. The poor girl spent her entire childhood to acquire the [Magic Control] and [Magic Perception] skills, and then once she had them, she was sent off to the Magic Academy…”

“So she’s spent her entire life doing nothing but study magic,” Zack summarized as he moved to protect a piece from Delilah’s knight fork.

“It’s no way to raise a child,” Val said, frowning. “Especially a human child. You live your lives so quickly, and have little propensity for magic in the first place. But, [Supreme Mana Regeneration]…” Val sighed.

“Even the elves might have done such a thing, if one of us had been born with that [Skill].”

“It’s that powerful?” Zack asked before taking a sip of his taro.

It was Delilah that answered. “Yes. Effectively unlimited mana… From birth, the Princess was a step beyond even the Grand Mages.”

“It’s only a matter of time before she’s recognized as an Archmage—the pinnacle of magical prowess,” Val added, sadly.

“What about, er, those who must not be na—”

Delilah and Jess paled, though Vlad remained too focused on his next move to react. Zack couldn’t see Nerezza’s reaction, if any, and Val interrupted him casually.

“They,” she said quickly, “are different entirely.” She looked back at Nerezza. “We are warded, no?”

“Not that well,” Nerezza replied.

“Pity,” Val said, then turned back to Zack. “They are different. They stand against the Goddess, and evade her divine punishment.”

Zack [Stifled] a shiver. He’d come close to divine punishment, himself. Or at least it had felt that way. He hadn’t caught a glimpse of the ghostly eyeballs watching him in some time.

“Archmages, on the other hand, do not oppose the Goddess, and take steps to avoid her wrath. Thus, they reach the pinnacle of non-heretical magical prowess, and remain mortal.”

“So, what separates a Grand Mage and an Archmage?” Zack asked.

“[Supreme Mana Regeneration].” Val’s ears drooped slightly. “It is a terrible burden for a child, and Ruby was unfortunate to be born into a family that would notice the [Skill] so soon. She wields a terrible power, and there are few that can possible restrain her, if needed.”

Zack remembered the massive fireball at the end of the Training Day, and swallowed thickly.

But…

“The [Hero’s Party] may be the safest place for her to be, for everyone else’s sake,” Delilah said.

Val sighed sadly.

Zack changed the subject slightly.

“So, it’s difficult for humans to learn [Magic Control] and [Magic Perception], right? Is it not so for elves?”

“That’s right.”

“But humans can learn the skills. How?”

Val hesitated. “Do you wish to learn the [Skills], Jack?”

“Maybe,” Zack lied. Val giggled.

“Well, it’s simple. Constant exposure to magic. But,” her expression became gravely serious. “This either takes a very long time, or it is most painful.” She paused a moment.

“Did you feel that?”

“Huh?”

Val smiled gently. “I thought not. You’re still a long way from [Magic Perception], then. There are tools to forcibly circulate magic within your body, which you can attempt to resist to acquire [Magic Control] without first acquiring [Magic Perception], but again, this is painful.”

So Val knew something of learning those [Skills].

Zack made note of this for the future. Madame Azriel, perhaps, also knew.

The conversation drifted from there to the other members of the [Hero’s Party]. Val proved quite knowledgeable about them, and how they had been training inside and outside the city, going as far back as the ‘tryouts.’

“It was a sign of the [Hero’s] wisdom,” she said solemnly—and Jess and Delilah also nodded, “to arrange these ‘tryouts’ to select the members of his [Party].”

Zack had to hold back a laugh.

For the next two games of chess, Val told stories about the [Party] members’ histories.

Rosimund’s storied career as a Knight, rising through the ranks.

Maria’s discovery as an [Oracle], and born with the [Magic Control] and [Magic Perception] skills, and the miracles she had been performing from when she was a young girl.

Elizabeth’s rise through the ranks of the Adventurer’s Guild.

Even Su’s Guild career, from her monster slaying in Famalfi, to her journey throughout Forti, until she arrived in Fortinium.

But there was nothing about Anastasia.

“It’s as though she appeared out of thin air,” Val lamented, hand on her cheek. “I worry about her, poor thing…”

“Why?”

Val leaned in and whispered, her breath sweet and hot in his ear.

“You humans, despite living so fast, are terrible with ages, and lie about them incessantly. The poor girl is not even fifteen years old, and yet she’s a member of the [Hero’s Party]?” Val pulled back and sighed.

“It’s a recipe for disaster.”

“Check.”