Levi watches Gerard's jaw clench, his mouth pressing into a hard line.
"You know...most people would be a little less cavalier trespassing into the guild master's office." (Gerard)
Mizuki's eyes widen in surprise, his voice rising in mock concern.
"Oh no! Are you going to try and arrest me again? Please, anything but the fuzzy handcuffs..." (Mizuki)
Suddenly, a pair of fluffy white ears stick out from Mizuki's side. That's when Levi notices the little girl that's been hiding behind Mizuki, now choosing to peek her head out and stare at Gerard curiously. He raises his eyebrows.
'A rabbit-kin girl? What's she doing with him?'
The girl tears her gaze from Gerard to look up at Mizuki, her voice full of disbelief.
"Mizuki, this man tried to arrest you?" (Sadhara)
Mizuki's expression becomes amused, but he gives the little girl a warm smile and nods. The little girl turns to Gerard, her voice and expression bewildered.
"Mister...are you dumb?" (Sadhara)
Levi has to suppress his urge to smile, and he cuts a glance at Gerard, who's wearing a completely stupefied expression. Mizuki, however, practically giggles.
"Fufufufu....that's right, Sadhara! You're a good judge of character, aren't you?" (Mizuki)
Mizuki affectionately pats her head, and the little girls face lights up. Her cheeks puff slightly with pride, and she smiles back at Mizuki. Levi watches the interaction, dubious.
'He is...very different with kids...'
The touching moment is interrupted by a very grumpy-sounding Gerard.
"Mizuki...what is this little bunny girl doing here?" Gerard)
The girl, who Levi assumes is named Sadhara, glowers at Gerard, moving further behind Mizuki. Mizuki gives Gerard an admonishing look.
"That wasn't very nice, Gerard. She's a young rabbit-kin, not a 'bunny girl'. Seriously, do you hate children or something?" (Mizuki)
Levi can practically hear Gerard's teeth crack from clenching them, a touch of red coloring his weathered face. After a moment, though, he lets out a small breath. His tone is polite, but strained.
"Mizuki...what is this young rabbit-kin doing here, with you?" (Gerard)
Mizuki smiles, nodding like he's proud of Gerard, which only makes the man angrier. Somehow, Levi's sure that's by design.
"This is Sadhara. I think your night receptionist, Melena, is her big sister. I owed Sadhara a favor, and she asked me to reunite the two of them, so...here we are." (Mizuki)
Levi's eyes widen in shock, as do Gerard's, but it's apparently for entirely different reasons.
"Melena's little sister?" (Levi)
"What exactly did a ten year old girl do to earn a favor from you?" (Gerard)
Sadhara eagerly peeks her head out from behind Mizuki, glaring at Gerard.
"I'm eleven, and what I did for Mizuki is a secret!" (Sadhara)
Sadhara sticks her tongue out, then retreats behind Mizuki's leg. Seeing that Gerard is just staring at the little girl, dumbstruck, Mizuki turns to Levi and smiles.
"From what I can tell, yeah, they're sisters. Anyway, nice catching up with you two! Zara, Sadhara, you ready?" (Mizuki)
Just like that, Mizuki moves towards the door.
"Wait a second! We need to talk!" (Gerard)
Mizuki's foot pauses, throwing a curious gaze over his shoulder at Gerard.
"About?" (Mizuki)
Gerard shakes his head in exasperation, but his expression quickly turns serious.
"About the Empire." (Gerard)
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
I raise my eyebrows.
What about the Empire could we need to discuss? I was just, err...talking, with the Council a few days ago, right? Did something happen?
I cast a brief, conflicted glance at Sadhara, then nod at Gerard.
"Okay, I hear you. But it'll have to wait...I have a promise to Sadhara that I need to keep first." (Mizuki)
Gerard's expression becomes pained.
"You have a bit of a reputation in Elmesia these days, especially around the guild. I'd rather not have you walking around carelessly...it feels like paperwork waiting to happen." (Gerard)
I let out a sigh. I...can't pretend that's not fair. Though I managed to smooth things over somewhat, I didn't leave the guild members with the best impression last time. Dropping bodies isn't a real crowd pleaser, turns out.
"Be that as it may, it doesn't change my opinion. Sadhara and Melena first, our discussion second." (Mizuki)
Gerard drags a hand over his face, letting out a long sigh.
"Then at least let Levi go find Melena and bring her here, and we can talk in the meantime." (Gerard)
I raise my eyebrows, casting an inquisitive look towards Levi. He just nods sheepishly. I glance at Zara next.
[Zara, would you mind going with Levi and looking after Sadhara? If this discussion involves the Empire, I'm not sure it's appropriate for children.] (Mizuki)
Zara nods subtly. Satisfied, I meet Gerard's now expectant gaze. I nod at him.
"Alright, that works." (Mizuki)
I turn and stoop to one knee in front of Sadhara, giving her a reassuring smile.
"Sadhara, I need to stay here and talk with Dummy, okay? But Elder Zara and my friend Levi are going to take you straight to Melena. I promise, you can trust them. Just stay close and do what they say, alright?" (Mizuki)
Sadhara tenses up slightly, casting a studying gaze at Levi, who just waves nervously at her. Her eyes drift to Zara, who nods stoically, and that seems to relax her slightly. She looks back at me and nods.
"Okay..." (Sadhara)
After that, the three of them depart, leaving Gerard and I alone in his office. I take a seat on the couch, and give him a serious look.
"Okay...talk." (Mizuki)
Gerard cocks an eyebrow, glancing pointedly at the empty space on the couch next to me.
"Lady Ned-...err, Nina, isn't going to join us?" (Gerard)
I shake my head.
"No need. I'll pass along anything relevant to her and the others." (Mizuki)
His expression becomes confused.
"What if we need her help with something?" (Gerard)
The corners of my mouth twitch. Clearly, he's still wrapping his head around my dynamic with Nina.
"Well, if I agree with you that we need Nina's help, I'll get her to assist us when the time comes." (Mizuki)
He gives me a dubious look, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"So you really have an Elder Dragon following your orders like a godsdamned puppy..." (Gerard)
I frown, mildly annoyed.
"Gerard, I'm going to have to insist you not refer to my wife like she's a pet. I'm sensitive like that, and I doubt you'd live past morning if Nina heard." (Mizuki)
Gerard pales slightly, but he quickly recovers, his gaze sharpening.
"The Empire...I want to know what your plans are." (Gerard)
I raise my eyebrows.
"My plans?" (Mizuki)
He becomes incredulous.
"Yes, your plans! In case you've forgotten, they all but declared war on us if we didn't hand you over to them, and we only took your side because you said you'd protect Elmesia! But since then, we haven't seen any of you around! How exactly do you plan to help if the Empire attacks when you're gone all the time!?" (Gerard)
I sigh...more so at the situation than Gerard's reaction. He's not exactly being unreasonable.
"Well, we've been busy, and Elmesia is safe for now. Besides, you can contact us through Levi. If anything happens, just reach out and we'll be here to help." (Mizuki)
Although, now that I think about it...neither Nina or I are in a position to regularly check our house's MMC over the next few days. If Levi sends us a message, it might take me up to a full day to arrive here in Elmesia. That's fine for most situations, but if a gaggle of Empire soldiers showed up and attacked Elmesia without notice, that could pose a problem.
Gerard narrows his eyes at me.
"You say that like you're sure you'd be able to make it here in time. But if you're so close, why do we never see any of you around anymore?" (Gerard)
I shrug.
"Never said we were close by, just that we'd be here. In case you forgot, Elder Dragons have wings...even traveling from a neighboring country is a quick affair." (Mizuki)
He falls silent, clearly stunned by the sheer absurdity of that comment. I can only imagine what he's thinking right now – picturing me riding on Nina's back in her dragon form. Rather than chuckle at his expense, though, I decide to redirect the conversation.
"Anyway, if all goes well, your concerns should prove unnecessary. I've arranged for a...negotiation, of sorts with the Empire. It's scheduled for thirteen days from now, in Rodsgard. Hopefully, I'll be able to dispel any of their plans for conquest." (Mizuki)
Gerard's eyes go wide in shock.
"Why didn't you tell us this!? Are you insane!?" (Gerard)
I roll my eyes. Why is he being so dramatic? He knows how powerful my party is.
"I'm no less sane than usual, and telling you any sooner was unnecessary. I mean, what exactly would you have done? Did you want to show up at the negotiations, explicitly allying with us?" (Mizuki)
Gerard's expression turns deadpan.
"Of course not, I'm not suicidal – do you really think they won't kill you the second you show up in Rodsgard? Or sooner? Maybe Nina can protect you, but they won't know that. Best case, she ends up murdering more of them in defense, and you make this situation even worse!" (Gerard)
I raise my eyebrows at him.
"I mean...we already snuck into their country, slaughtered almost seventy of their strongest warriors like pigs, then snuck out. There's no way they'd be stupid enough to do what you're suggesting." (Mizuki)
He sighs in exasperation.
"You're betting an awful lot on them being reasonable. How'd that work out for you with Belmod?" (Gerard)
Well, he's got me there.
"Nevertheless, I'm not worried about our safety. If they're really willing to attack us again under the guise of peace negotiations, then their hostility couldn't have gotten worse in the first place. I still think it's worth a shot." (Mizuki)
He's silent for several moments. Eventually, he rubs his neck and gives me a tired look.
"Not like I can talk you out of it. Can you at least return to Elmesia before these negotiations? Your absence has been glaring to other adventurers, and being seen around here contributing would go a long way towards your image in Elmesia. Plus, the Council will want to talk to you...and Nina, about these developments with the Empire." (Gerard)
I give him an amused smile, biting back the urge to make a joke about how vital he must consider my company to make that request. Still, I understand what he means, and I agree. It was less than a week ago that I made that big speech to the other adventurers about how I'd stand against the Empire with them, if necessary. Me going MIA right after probably doesn't inspire confidence, and I don't want new problems popping up here.
I nod.
"Okay. I'll come back soon and do whatever political nonsense is required, but I need some time to settle other business first." (Mizuki)
Gerard nods, surprisingly not offended by my dismissive remark. Then, he gives me a serious look.
"Good. But Mizuki..." (Gerard)
I raise my eyebrows.
"Yeah?" (Mizuki)
His voice turns solemn.
"I hope you know what you're doing..." (Gerard)