Trapped in Another World With No Magic-Chapter 157: Not Easily Fooled

As promised, Daniel is alone in his stateroom on the airship, where he is awaiting a knock on his door. He left a note with Doephluev to meet with him privately, and he convinced everyone to give him some time by himself to prepare. Geirahoel and Reignleif went with Neith and Aramellianna to get caught up on current events with Mattarglos, since a small amount of trade is already in progress.

Daniel sets up a counter-espionage device that Wenlianna developed at her mother’s request. It works similar to a device Daniel saw in a movie about an anarchist revolutionary fighting a fascist regime in alternative modern times. It produces a slurry of static energies of various kinds that prevents remote spying techniques, including listening from outside of the room.

Hekate, Treia, Gwenesphia, and Veiranoei have complained that the device gives them a headache if they’re too close to it, especially in the same room.

Daniel realizes he shouldn’t be surprised, since his door opens without a knock after a couple more minutes, and Doephluev walks in, peering out playfully ‘suspiciously’ before closing the door. She grins at Daniel, rocking her hips back and forth cutely. “Darling! I’m here.”

“I see that,” replies Daniel a little dryly.

She skips a little happily across his room, plopping herself down on his lap as she asks in a brightly innocent tone, “So, what did you need of me Daniel? A secret mission? Or, something more fun?”

The human mechanic watches her curiously. She’s energetic as usual, but something seems off.

“I have a hunch, but to test it, we’ll need a lot of anti-magic material. I want you to retrieve a large amount of polonium from my bag over there before you join us for the party. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course! There’s nothing I can’t do!” She grins at him as she hugs him, pressing her chest and belly against him.

Again, Daniel can’t help but be skeptical. He is still without any magic, which he knows because he has been trying to cast the small spells he learned from Doephluev and Reignleif with his miniscule mana at the time. He hasn’t had any luck, so mind control shouldn’t work on him. He’s not sure how illusion magic works. Regardless, Doephluev is acting a little strange.

She draws her finger up and down against his chest, saying, “Now then, since we have some time in between, what do you say we pick up where we left off, Darling?”

“And where was that?” asks Daniel dryly. Maybe my time away and everything going on has made me paranoid.

She cuddles against his chest, leaning her face as close to his as possible. “Well, we were running off together… I think you know the rest.”

“Do I now?”

“Gah! Yes! You know everything! So just do it now!” She grips his shirt chest and tries to shake him, though she doesn’t put much force into it.

Noooo… You wouldn’t dare… Would you?

Daniel stands up with Doephluev in his arms, and she gasps while he swiftly pins her down onto the bed.

“Is this what you had in mind?” asks the mechanic with a slight growl in his voice.

“Y-Yes,” replies Doephluev timidly. She usually rolls with any move he makes confidently, as if the mere accomplishment of getting him to act is a small victory.

Daniel leans close to her, and he watches her eyes track his, waiting for his next move. He can feel her twitch in a mouse-like way, as if this is their very first time about to go all the way.

Daniel can feel a deep part of his soul sigh in exasperation.

I can’t believe you, you little fool. Though, I guess, this is exactly how you’d go about it.

The human brushes the archoneldwyn’s hair aside, asking quietly, “Did you miss me so much, you forgot where to start?”

The archoneldwyn mistress blushes, averting her eyes finally. “I… Yes. What did you expect? I was lonely.”

“Alright, then. Leave it to me.”

Daniel unfastens her belt, and the young woman squirms lightly. She wants to object, but she resists the urge to.

When Daniel tugs downwards on her skirt, however, he gets his confirmation. She gasps slightly, instinctively bringing her hands in front of her chest while she squirms her legs timidly.

Daniel’s soul sighs again. He’s keeping a facade for now, but he is absolutely certain now.

“Ah, before we get too far, did Hekate mistreat you?”

“What? Why would I-it… seem like that?” ‘Doephluev’ sits up on her elbows, saying enthusiastically, “D-She and I worked really well together! She’s actually quite smart and kind, oh, and we share lots of interests, as it turns out. Obviously, she’s still one of my rivals, but she’s not so bad, and I kind of enjoyed spending time with her.”

The Emperor of the Fievegal smiles gently, and he pets her head.

Interesting. She didn’t use simple illusion magic, did she? Otherwise…

Daniel gingerly moves his hands across her head where he expects to find triangular, fox-like ears.

It’s not someone else, right? Nah. Everything else fits, too. Must be similar to the spell the dragons use.

“Sweetpea,...” blurts out Daniel softly.

‘Doephluev’ flinches, her eyes going wide. He can see doubt flash across her expression, but she chooses wrong, trying to play it off like Daniel would reuse a pet name -excluding Mukori-. “Yes, my love?”

Hekate’s apparent ‘mate guarding’ instincts have betrayed her.

Ironically enough, after they failed to help her keep up the ruse.

“Hekate, I know it’s you.”

Her expression drains of color, and Daniel tugs her skirt back up around her hips. She dressed like Doephluev, transformed into a doppelganger of Doephluev, and even tried at first to speak like her.

All of which means Doephluev needs to be scolded as well, thinks Daniel to himself.

“I… I’m Doephluev, Daniel. How can you…?”

Daniel puts his face close to hers again, like he’s going in for a kiss, and the young woman’s brain halts her thought.

The human mechanic whispers a little icily, “Doephluev is usually the aggressor in these situations. Which means she would have waited exactly one second before making sure our lips touch.”

Hekate blushes, dumbfounded. She looks like and sounds like Doephluev, but she’s Hekate to her very core. She’s too honest and sincere to be Doephluev, who is often scheming and manipulative even when she’s being kind or affectionate. Doephluev has a drive to compete to become the ruling Empress. Hekate was given the role when she doesn’t really care about it at all.

The young woman on the bed hesitates a moment longer, and she finally undoes the spell, returning to her normal raven haired self. Her height shrinks, her tail and ears appear, and her hair and eye color return to normal. Her cheeks are red as she avoids eye contact with Daniel, and he flops down on the bed beside her. He doesn’t say anything yet, since she has to get over the immediate embarrassment before she’ll be able to have a proper conversation.

“H-How did you know it was me?” asks Hekate finally as she rolls to lay her head on his chest.

“You honestly think I wouldn’t be able to pick you out in an imposter situation?” asks Daniel. He pets her head gently. “Whatever you think, whatever happens in the future, you are the closest person to me right now. If I ever had any doubts, I’d just do that thing, and I’ll know immediately.”

“Wh-What thing?” asks Hekate nervously.

Daniel smiles at her cryptically, and she urgently repeats, “What thing!?”

Her beloved emperor pulls her head close and kisses her forehead. “Never change, Hekate. Never change.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

The mechanic sits up, feigning a stretch like it’s morning. “Now then, I need to find ‘Hekate’ and scold her as well.”

“But I’m… Oh…” Hekate starts to object, but quickly realizes her folly. She goes quiet, and she realizes that Daniel has seen through the whole childish plan.

He walks to the door, sliding it open. There, he finds ‘Hekate’ milling around just up the hallway, and she spots Daniel too late.

“Hekate, come here,” states Daniel coldly, pointing at her. The imposter Hekate flinches, glancing around.

Unlike the real feldrok girl, who is too innocent and honest for her own good, Doephluev has the foresight to imitate small mannerisms. Her ears droop, her tail sags, and she fidgets in a way that Hekate normally does. Daniel rolls his eyes as she trots up the hall in the small-girl way Hekate does.

You’d last longer than Hekate, I suppose. You clown. Daniel sighs at himself. “Beautiful clown…” murmurs the human softly.

“What was that?” asks ‘Hekate’ softly as she’s reaching Daniel.

The mechanic grunts, “Nothing. Get in here.”

He drags her into his state room by the arm, though she doesn’t resist, so it sounds worse than it is.

When she sees Hekate seated on the bed, fidgeting sheepishly, ‘Hekate’ does exactly what Daniel would expect. “Wha-!? Daniel! Doephluev is impersonating me!? Tell me you didn’t believe this imposter! I’m the real Hekate! I swear! We’ve cuddled together, and we stopped Mr. Lugrae together!”

“Hah!” snaps Hekate. “You liar! I didn’t do anything during that fight! I was crumpled in a corner, scared.”

Her tone is oddly proud, and both Daniel and ‘Hekate’ stare at her for a moment.

Still committed to the ruse, ‘Hekate’ immediately defensively retorts, “You see, Daniel!? She’s just nitpicking the bad stuff!”

The mechanic picks up the small imposter by her armpits, holding her up to his level. She doesn’t resist, hanging limply like a cat for the moment. He does note that she is lighter than her actual form, though he wonders what the spell has done to her pregnant belly.

Deciding to check, he lifts her higher and presses his cheek towards her abdomen.

This time, he can feel her rounded belly before its visible appearance, meaning she is using a combination of illusion and transformation spells. She is shorter and lighter overall, but she didn’t risk the safety of her child, meaning her belly had to be hidden.

He can hear her hum, and Daniel lowers her back to the same level as him. He pulls her close to himself, leaning his head near.

Before he can say anything, and exactly one second after he puts his face near hers, ‘Hekate’ locks her legs around his waist, and she kisses him.

Afterwards, Daniel remarks dryly, “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

The real feldrok girl growls from her position on the bed, and Daniel carries the imposter to plop her down beside the young Empress.

“How did it feel, my Beloved Emperor?” asks ‘Hekate’, still in disguise. “To kiss your beloved Hekate after all this time?”

Finally realizing what she was saying, the real ravenette gasps as she glares at Doephluev in shock. Just before she can pounce, Daniel bonks them both lightly on the head with his index knuckles, and they both whine -with Doephluev matching Hekate near-perfectly in whining-.

“Ow!” whine both doppelgangers of Hekate together, nursing their heads.

Daniel realizes it’s probably mostly childish, since he has seen both of these young women take stone-cracking impacts and brush them off in a stumble. He could hit them at his full strength, and they’d only feel it as a hit, but not as actually painful.

That said, both Hekate’s look cute when they massage their heads, pouting at Daniel pitifully.

“Both of you should’ve known better. I’d expect shenanigans like this from Doephluev, but Hekate, I’ve told you many times I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to pull tricks. I just want you to focus on being young first.”

“Then, you know, find a nice boy your age, fall in love, leave Daniel to me…” states Doephluev.

“Change back, you temptress!” snaps Hekate as she dives onto her mimic. “I don’t want to chew my own face off!”

Ignoring their small impotent spat, Daniel talks over the noise, “Doephluev, since you seem to be cooperating with Hekate well now,...” Both of them halt as they wrestle on the bed, scowling at Daniel as if he just declared his intent to demote both of them from their positions.

Still, the mechanic continues, “What I actually wanted you to do, and you both may do it, I need you to bring anti-magic ingots and keep them hidden on your person as you approach each of the women in our inner circle.”

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“I think it’s Aoloan,” replies Doephluev, who is still in Hekate’s appearance, but she’s the one of the two clearly protecting her abdomen. “She made a threatening remark the other day.”

“What did she say?” asks Daniel.

The two women glance at each other, and the archoneldwyn replies honestly, “I don’t remember exactly… B-But, it was very suspicious. We tried watching her all week, but she’s very crafty.”

“She can also use hypnosis magic!” replies Hekate. “S-So, maybe she read our minds.”

Daniel ponders this for a moment, but he’s more suspicious of Vaergraes and Thymeria, personally. “Were there any other moments?” asks Daniel gently.

Both of them shake their heads solemnly, and he pets them both to reassure them. “It’s alright. Our true enemy knows we’re onto them now, but their advantage is that we don’t know enough about them to even really start our search, and they know it.”

“So… what will we do?” asks Hekate innocently.

Daniel smiles. “Well, I don’t want to gamble and lose. If we can fish out some more clues, then we’ll have a stronger hand to play with.”

Both young women nod, and they finally come to a truce after a brief glance and a nod at each other, and they both sit up. Just as Daniel is about to continue with his plan, though, Hekate suddenly sniffs the air, and she keeps doing so as she gets closer and closer to Daniel.

“What is that?” asks the girl suspiciously.

“What are you…?” starts Daniel in reply, but the feldrok girl gasps.

“I recognize this smell! It’s Eri!”

She immediately pats him down, digging in his belt pouches and pockets until she finds the source; a small handkerchief. The ravenette studies it with an intense expression, double-checking that it did in fact come from her cherished blonde friend.

She holds it up, asking, “Daniel! What is this!?”

“It’s a handkerchief,” replies Daniel bluntly.

“I can see that! Why does it smell like Eri?”

Both Hekate and ‘Hekate’ glare at him with the same exact expression, ears laid back flat and everything. Daniel can’t help but laugh, which prompts the embarrassed young women to perk their ears back up and glance at each other like a mirror image.

The mechanic laughs. “I’m sorry. You were both just so adorable.” He explains gently, “Eri made it for me, thinking it was the Lawson family crest. But…” He trails off, once again realizing he’s stepping in it. Both Hekate and Doephluev are beaming at him, and Doephluev snatches one side of the handkerchief so she can look at it as well.

The human mechanic from Earth sighs. “I told her we’ll talk about it. That’s closer to my military insignia from Earth, so…”

“This is really good!” exclaims Doephluev.

“Right? Eri is very smart. I’m glad she’s my friend.”

“I don’t recognize this bird, but it looks very good.”

“Yes, yes. And, I didn’t even think about a family crest!”

“I think we’re the same, Hekate. We didn’t learn about them.”

“Mm-hmm! We’ll have to make this one official.”

“Yes, I’ll start putting it on all of my dresses and formalwear. Oh! We should have cameos made as well!”

“Cameos?” asks Hekate excitedly. “What are those?”

“Yes! They’re a jewelry thing that has a picture that is usually worn right here…” Doephluev gestures to the center of her collarbone, adding, “And, they normally have an engraving of either the wearer or their spouse, but can have all kinds of things.” She remarks, “I used to steal-AHEM! Uh, I mean… I’ve seen them… o-on some of my missions.”

Hekate nods, uninterested in Doephluev’s checkered past, since it’s not a good subject for anyone. “Mm-mmm. Then, we’ll have to ask the Stalvaltan ladies about them. Oh! Maybe Gwen knows. She’s a noble lady too, right?” Hekate looks at Daniel, who has all but given up on halting them.

He replies, “Yes, but may I make a request?”

“What is it?” asks Hekate innocently.

“That symbol is very lovely, but it’s based on my military insignia. If you wish to create a family crest, I would ask you and anyone else working on it to come up with something even more special and unique to our family. To help with that, the name ‘Lawson’ comes from the old English meaning ‘son of Lawrence’, though it could also loosely be tied to ‘son of a lawyer’.”

“So, your father’s name was Lawrence?” asks Doephluev curiously.

Daniel smiles. “No, it’s actually a pretty common surname in my country, let alone the world. There are many generations between me and the origin of my family name, so it can be something else.”

The two women look at each other again, and the human adds, “Work with everyone else to make something. I’ll help, too. I just ask that it not be a reimagining of my military insignia, so it’s more unique to us.”

Hekate and Doephluev both nod in agreement, and Daniel can finally relax. “Now, can we focus on what we need to do today?”

Hekate springs off of Daniel’s bed, saying eagerly, “Yes. Ready when you are!”

“Remember, I just need you two to bring anti-magic ingots. Also, if you detect anything off, let me know. Neith didn’t realize anything was wrong with the cravat decoration the spy maid candidate was wearing.”

“Has Xyreko found anything abnormal about it?” asks Doephluev.

“She’s still working to deconstruct the curse.”

“Senn brought a bunch of books from somewhere, but she has been researching monsters first.”

Daniel nods. “There’s too many things going on.”

“What should we focus on?” asks Doephluev. “The enemy is our greatest danger, yes?”

The mechanic agrees with the archoneldwyn former-assassin. “Yes, but I think we need to keep our eyes open while working towards our other goals. They won’t reveal themselves very easily while we search, and even if we find our insider, that won’t be the end of it.”

“If you make me your only Empress, Daniel…” starts Doephluev, and Hekate glares at her, growling with obvious irritation in her voice.

“And Hekate, I guess…”

“I want to trust all of you. I also don’t want to disappoint any of my family. To choose now would literally kill me.”

The two Hekate-doppelgangers scoff and roll their eyes. Hekate reassures him, “I’ll do my best to keep you shielded when you’re around me, Daniel.”

He nods, gesturing to the small dark pixie floating around him from the scarf, since his room is usually kept in fairly low light, even when Daniel is present. “Lucy and the others are with me as well. Plus Nemaisol.”

Speak for yourself, replies the telepathic voice of Kaeralegier. If you kept your hands to yourself, you wouldn’t be in this situation.

“How do you intend to test everyone in question?” asks Doephluev. “You think you can just ask them?”

“Oh! That’s actually a good idea! Let’s go meet with that Leiwelles lady!”

Daniel gives a thoughtful nod, and Doephluev looks a little confused, but she assumes that it’s a decent idea given Daniel’s agreement. “We’ll get to that stage when we can. For now, I have a question to ask that should throw them off.”

Doephluev and Hekate nod, and just before Daniel clarifies, Hekate stops him. “Wait. You have no magic right now, right?”

“Right…” murmurs Daniel, unsure where she’s going with it.

“Well, mind reading shouldn’t work on you, right? If they’re going to curse you, they’re going to suffer the consequences. Mwahahahahahaha!”

“I told you, Darling. That’s Doephluev. Look how evil she is.”

Daniel laughs, not buying the archoneldwyn mistress’s last ditch effort to fool him. “I suppose if you like looking like the cutest member of our family, I won’t stop you.”

Hekate blushes, while Doephluev gasps. She instantly casts the spell to turn back into herself, snapping, “How dare you, my Love!? There should be no one more adorable and beautiful than the mother of your children!”

Before he can say it, Hekate says proudly with her hands on her hips, “The Hekate Game is undefeated, Doephluev. You silly, silly woman.”

The human mechanic continues snickering lightly while Doephluev scowls at the feldrok girl, and the young Empress puffs her flat chest out as proudly as she can, cackling triumphantly.

Life would be simple if we could just enjoy ourselves like this all the time, thinks Daniel to himself.

The hardest thing he’s going to have to do is try to stay objective while searching for a potential traitor.

***

Daniel waits with Xyreko at the makeshift firing range established within the controlled zone around the airship. It’s an outdoor range with fabric netting over top of it, like an outdoor temporary military outpost. It’s less about hiding it from aircraft, and more about hiding what’s underneath and inside from anyone who might be able to see from above or far away with less cost and permanence than an actual structure.

His companions and other students start appearing with the Dragon Empresses and the three Dragon Knights, who are mainly just joining them to be around Daniel. All three of the Empresses walk with grace, making a show for the knights following them. Treia is the next one, jogging past the dragons to ask, “Daniel, do you mind if I use my rifle?”

“Not at all. But, please swap out your magazines for range rounds, which are less costly.”

She grins and nods. Her rifle is on her back, so she pulls it in front of her, ejecting the magazine and cycling the remaining live round out of the chamber, loading it back into the magazine.

Xyreko gestures at a table with magazines each loaded with five rounds for the training. She also has semi-sentient ‘range officer’ golems standing at each of the stations to make sure everyone is safe and doesn’t point weapons at themselves or each other.

Treia loads a training magazine into her rifle, grinning at Daniel. “You need to make more time for me, Daniel. I could always use more practice.”

“It wasn’t that long ago I’d have been afraid to give you one of these for myself.”

Her smirk turns a little icy, and she lays the barrel of her rifle on Daniel’s shoulder. He’s thankful that she didn’t just point it at him, even in jest, but she’s not above firing off a round into the air with the muzzle right next to his ear.

It would be approximately one step below actually shooting him with the rifle.

She grips his collar and stands on the very tips of the toes of her small gatonine feet while pulling his face towards hers. “You promised to visit my family soon, right?”

“Yeah,” replies Daniel as everyone files in, receiving instructions from Xyreko.

“Do you think I want to take my chances finding time in my family home with two younger siblings that are going to be absolutely fascinated with teasing their big sister?”

“You should’ve just been the youngest sister, then,” teases Gwenesphia as she approaches. She has the custom large-bore anti-dragon rifle that is magically bound to her, the same one she used to defeat Rohgattabor. The former lieutenant adds to her thought, “My family doesn’t even want to think about it.” She grins at Daniel, waving her tail back and forth.

Treia hums, kissing Daniel briefly before releasing him to poke Gwenesphia’s belly. “You’re getting a little doughy, there, Lieutenant.”

The gentler of the two gatonines stands upright proudly, displaying her modest chest. “Let’s hope so. I have been eating for two. Or more.” She snickers, and the feistier of the two bats Daniel with her tail. Treia glances at him with a slight scowl.

The human mechanic rolls his eyes, leaning close. He whispers in her ear, and she blushes, whirling to attack him. “Daniel! I’ll find a cliff to push you off of!” She tries to roundhouse kick him, and he catches her leg to keep her from attacking further as she flails at him with her ears back.

When he spots Vaergraes, however, he releases her and pets her head. He pulls her close and kisses her forehead, surprising her as she still resists in her embarrassed mini-tantrum. He quickly kisses Gwenesphia, pointing at a different table. “Twenty mil rounds on that table. Make sure you use the training rounds, please.”

Both gatonine women glance at each other, while Daniel jogs over to Vaergraes. “Vae, can we talk for a minute?”

“What is it, Daniel?” asks the Uhl’tall Archpriestess. Daniel notices in his peripherals that both Hekate and Doephluev are nearby, and Daniel pulls the former Demon Queen aside. freewebnoveℓ.com

“Sorry, I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure, anything.” She blushes a little, looking aside. “I hope it’s not just about business, though. Judging by Treia’s reaction, I… think I wouldn’t mind having that kind of conversation one of these days.”

Daniel laughs softly, glancing at the two gatonines who are talking about their respective rifles for the training. “I do owe you that, Vae.”

He looks at the archpriestess again, adding, “I actually did want to ask you how close you are to Thymeria.”

This confuses the Uhl’tall woman, and she asks, “Thymeria? Why? Did she try to seduce you?”

“No, I was just wondering. I don’t know what kind of an age gap you have, but my little brother was only four years younger than me, so we had a rivalry some days, best friendship the others, and just sometimes, we wanted to murder each other.”

Vaergraes smiles gently. “Thymeria… is adopted. A family friend was… well, he made a sacrifice for us. Thymeria was around ten years old when my grandfather took her in, and I was… mmm…” She thinks back on it, scoffing as she realizes something.

“Maybe… one hundred thirty or so? We raised her as my sister, though, since Grandfather also raised me.”

“I see… What was her mother’s name?”

“She died in childbirth. I think it was Melkaerana.”

“How did you end up together?”

“May I ask why you’re asking?”

Daniel makes the mistake of hesitating, and she smiles with a little disappointment on her face. “You suspect there is a spy among us?”

He tries to resist giving his thoughts away, but in so doing, he closes his eyes, and Vaergraes sighs. She steps closer to him, cupping his cheeks with her hands. “If you prove to me that Thymeria is one of them, I will kill her myself, Daniel. Whoever these enemies are pulling strings on both sides, they have caused me, personally, a great deal of suffering, let alone the people I was trusted to protect.” She squeezes his head a little, genuinely looking pained as her gaze goes distant. “These… people are monsters. I want the war to end. I always have. I…” Vaergraes looks into Daniel’s eyes, with her own starting to water. “Daniel… I’m begging you… Please save us…”

His heart tightens at the weight of the request. Unless she’s an extraordinarily good liar, Daniel is not particularly suspicious of the Uhl’tall archpriestess anymore.The sincerity in her voice, the pain wavering her words, and the deep fire in her eyes all speak to him.

“Alright,” murmurs Daniel gently. “I’m going down the list of anyone I’m not one hundred percent certain about. Anyone who has the strength and cunning to be the one.”

Vaergraes pouts a little, shooting a brief glance at Doephluev, who is minding her own business. “You trusted Doephluev before me, hmm?”

“No, I know exactly the ways I can’t trust her. She wants to steal power from all of us and become the Empress Regnant.”

“With you as her consort, hmm?” teases Vaergraes.

He can’t help but laugh. “Something tells me that, if I leave it to her, she’ll keep me barefoot and her pregnant.”

“What?” asks the rightfully confused Uhl’tall.

“Nevermind.” Daniel glances around at everyone, walking with Vaergraes. He whispers while they’re still out of earshot, “Do you have any idea who I’m looking for?”

“N-No. A-As I said, if I did… Daniel, what if it’s not any of us?”

“Then, I’ll be an extraordinarily happy person.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Just go with it for now. Oh! Before I forget, I’m going to the town of Forbeak for some trade negotiations next week, so I’d like you to join us, if you would.”

“Oh? Is this some sort of test.”

“You know me so well. Take it as you want, but I do have to show my face for some of our meetings.” He winks, and she smirks.

“I’ll keep it in mind, thanks.”

Daniel glances at Doephluev and Hekate, who give him unsure looks in turn.

He’s not a master interrogator, but given Vaergraes’ answer, he has some hope that she’s not a threat. The primary ones who knew enough to scheme against him by the time they were acquainted, other than Vaergraes, are Kera’tai and Aoloan.

Doephluev approaches and clings to Daniel’s arm, asking giddily, “So, what are we starting with first, my Love?”

“We’ll start with pistols, since the basic rules are the same.”

The archoneldwyn teases loud enough only for him to hear, “You know, Hekate is being suspicious. I think she’s the evil one.”

“Nice try, Doephluev. Keep it up, and I might actually have to suspect you of plotting.”

She clings to him, though she shifts behind him. “I am plotting, Darling.”

“I’ll make you a deal, Doephluev.” Daniel holds her close for a moment, looking at Geirahoel, specifically. “If you can convince Geirahoel and Hekate, you can have the Fievegal all to yourself.”

Doephluev cocks her head. “Just like that?”

“Mm-hmm. All yours.”

She narrows her eyes. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

She presses herself against him seductively. “Where do you fit into my Fievegal?”

“Dunno. Figured you’d have what you want at that point.”

She pouts cutely up at him. “You can be very mean, my Love. If you beg me, I will allow you to remain with the others.” The archoneldwyn loops her arms over his shoulders.

“Like I said… Convince that one…” Daniel points at Geirahoel as she studies the rifle Gwenesphia is explaining to Veiranoei, Kuboen, and Lyrtef. Next to her, Treia is demonstrating the assault rifle and explaining it to Goelselmo.

The archoneldwyn mistress replies a little dryly, “You’re right. I think we do have a great relationship as it is, my Darling.”

“Mm-hmm…” retorts Daniel just as dryly.

He’ll have to slowly pull the others aside to question them, but for now, he needs to actually train those he promised to train.

***