Kitsune of the Blue Sun

Chapter 94- Meeting the Rebel Commander

[Keeno POV]

A few weeks of traveling after meeting up with Sigurd and his group and finding out that I am being affected by the grudges of Falheim, we finally made it to the rebellion’s main base. It was located in a dilapidated mansion inside a small city. Upon reaching here and entering the base, we were greeted by the sight of many injured soldiers, some worse off than others. Seeing this and being who she is, Pram rushed ahead of the rest of the group and immediately started assessing the closest injured person.

The small number of other healers in the room looked over at her and were about to try and stop her when they saw she started using healing magic and let her be. Freya walked over to join her and act as her bodyguard.

“She’s a kind person. Healing our people without being asked.” (Sigurd)

“She has the title of Saint for a reason, though it’s mostly just because it’s her nature. Oh, but if any one here tries to take advantage of her kindness, neither I nor Freya will be very pleased.” (Keeno)

I noticed I was getting overly heated, physically and mentally, so I used the grudge cleansing spell Ama taught me again.

“Are you alright, my Lady?” (Emma)

“Yes.  Same spell I’ve been using on myself for a while now.” (Keeno)

“Nn.” (Emma)

As we continued to walk deeper into the base, a voice called out to Sigurd from up the staircase. When I looked up to see who was speaking, I saw a tall, muscular man. He was wearing a tight shirt that showed every muscle along with surprisingly modern looking military pants and thick, heavy boots. He sported a small beard along his jawline and chin which was the same salt and peppered color as his short hair. He had one eyes closed with a scar covering it.

“Commander, reporting back from our mission. Permission for debriefing?” (Sigurd)

“Granted. Come up here and bring that new face with you.” (Commander)

Sigurd nodded and the two of us walked up the stairs.  They creaked a bit too much for my liking, but still held.  When we got to the second floor, Sigurd led the way down a short hallway to a door.  He opened it and we both stepped inside.  I was a bit surprised to see that the room wasn’t a small one but was actually very spacious.  It looked like there were two walls knocked down to make it this big, but that was beside the point.  In the center of the room was a large table with a map of the country pinned to it with daggers in each corner.  There were little wooden figures laid out over the map.  Standing on the other side of the table from us was the commander while another person was standing hunched over the table, studying the map intently.  For some reason, this other person looked vaguely familiar.

“Sigurd, make your report.” (Commander)

“The forts at the border have been liberated…well, two of them have.  The center fort is rubble and ash, but they’ve all been taken regardless.  I’ve also sent several of my people out to the neighboring country to see if they can acquire supplies and hopefully people.  Concerning the complete destruction of one fort, I will say that it was the one I brought here that did so and will leave the explanation as to why to her.” (Sigurd)

I was a bit annoyed at how quickly Sigurd outed me, though I also knew that information had to come out at some point.  The commander turned his attention to me.  His stern expression immediately turned to a pondering one before his one eye opened wide.

“Prince.” (Commander)

The sudden call and tone it was made in caused the other person in the room to look up from the table.  He looked at the commander with a questioning look and the commander motioned toward me with his chin.  When the other man in the room looked at me and after the initial flinch from making eye contact with me, his eyes also went wide.

“Who are you and why do you look like my sister Leticia?” (???)

Hearing that name made me frown and the room started to heat up.  The suddenness of this caused the commander to raise his guard and the other person to step back.

“So, I look like that mongrel.  I don’t know whether to feel revolted or insulted…actually, I think it’s both.” (Keeno)

“…” (???)

“*Sigh*Sigurd, please explain, it seems we’ve offended our guest.” (Commander)

“Yes, Commander Freyr.” (Sigurd)

And now I knew the commander’s name.  I also found it ironic that I had someone named Freya close to me, though those thoughts only made sense to me.

“She is the one born from the Fafnir family, though she renounces the name and, quite justifiably I may add, has the biggest vendetta against them here.” (Sigurd)

Commander Freyr crossed his arms and hummed in contemplation.  The other person, on the other hand, had various expressions forming on his face ranging from sympathetic, to annoyed, to enlightened.

“I see, so my sister’s child did live.  I’d heard that the child she bore was stillborn.” (???)

“I highly doubt that mongrel said such…tame things about me.  At least, the vitriol she spouted at me during her tortuous training wasn’t anything as tame as that.” (Keeno)

“Oh, there were many more things, though it was mostly that her child was stillborn and replaced with some sort of monster.” (???)

The heat in the room increased again and I was clinching my hands so tightly I was surprised I wasn’t drawing blood yet.

“My Lady, please calm down.  I understand that talking about those mongrels isn’t pleasant for you, but we need the things in here and we will be in serious trouble if they start to burn.” (Sigurd)

I bit my lip as I tried to calm myself down.  It took a few minutes and some deep breaths, but eventually the temperature decreased again.

“Prince, please refrain from talking about her for now.” (Freyr)

The prince nodded and stopped talking, though he still didn’t avert his gaze from me.

“I apologize for getting off topic.  Madam…” (Freyr)

“Okami.” (Keeno)

“Madam Okami, can you please explain why you destroyed one of the border forts, provide any information you can about the outside to us, and, if possible, explain what you plan on doing from here on out?  I need to know these things before I ask more questions and hopefully receive some answers.” (Freyr)

“Simply put, the fort was in the way, and I wanted to help Sigurd and Emma.  For information on the outside, I’ve told Sigurd most of what I know, at least to the point he could handle it.  And one of my goals here is to finish off those two mongrels that made my life as bad as it was at the start.  I do have other goals, but those will remain personal until I see fit to either trust you with what they are or am forced into a situation where divulging them is the only possible solution.” (Keeno)

Commander Freyr closed his eye and mulled over my words.  When he opened it again and spoke, his voice was gruff.

“Let me at least ask this much…do you plan on either taking the country for yourself, or hindering the rebellion from its mission?” (Freyr)

“After I take care of my goals here, I want nothing to do with this country for the rest of eternity.  As for the latter part of your question, I don’t see any point in doing so.  In fact, it would only hinder both of us if me and my companions did that, so I’d much rather work with you than against you.” (Keeno)

“That’s good to hear.” (Freyr)

“Oh, and before either of you get any ideas, I will up and leave all of you in a near death state if you even try to marry me off to someone for some political reason just because I am unfortunate enough to be related to those two mongrels.  I am my own person, I hate this country with every fiber of my being, and most importantly, I have a wife.” (Keeno)

I saw the prince deflate a little causing me to glare at him.  I didn’t even know this guy and he was already planning things like that just because I am who I am.  The commander looked at the prince as well and rolled his eye.

“Prince, I know that you are used to the scheming of the castle and all that implies, but instantly jumping into planning things like that, especially to a person that you just met and still hasn’t joined us is bad for our cause.  Especially if said person is also as strong as Madame Okami is.” (Freyr)

“Old habits die hard.  Madame Okami…please forgive me for even entertaining the thought.” (Prince)

“Nn.  Now, I know you have more questions, so out with them.” (Keeno)

I was then asked several questions about the outside of Falheim which, by the end of the discussion, left Commander Freyr and the prince in a state of mild shock.  Deciding it was best to let them mull over this new information, Sigurd and I left the room.  We went back downstairs where we saw that a large group was surrounding Pram and Freya as Pram continued healing people.  She had made a lot of progress through the room, though I could also see she was starting to get low on mana.  Passing through the crowd, I stood next to Pram.

“Pram, take a rest.” (Keeno)

I tried shaking her, but she didn’t respond and just kept healing the person she was next to.

“I’ve tried telling her, Okami, but it’s like she’s in a trance.” (Freya)

“Once she’s done here, grab one of her arms and I’ll grab the other.  We’re going to need to get her away from this room for a bit if we want her to stop.” (Keeno)

Freya nodded and once Pram finished healing the soldier, she stood up and the two of us moved.  Freya grabbed Pram’s left arm while I grabbed her right and we pulled her away.  She tried to struggle, but since she was so low on mana, she didn’t put up much of a fight.

“Emma.” (Keeno)

“This way, my Lady.” (Emma)

“Sigurd, explain the situation to these onlookers and don’t let anyone bother us for a while.” (Keeno)

“Yes, my Lady.” (Sigurd)

We continued down a different hallway until Emma opened a door and we all went inside.  Emma shut the door behind us as Freya and I put Pram down on a bed.

“Pram, are you back with us now?” (Keeno)

“…I did it again, didn’t I?” (Pram)

“Yep.” (Keeno)

“*Sigh*” (Pram)

“It’s alright, Pram.” (Freya)

Freya started to pat Pram’s head while Pram leaned into it.

“Emma, can we use this room?” (Keeno)

“Yes, my Lady.  I’ll clear it with the one in charge of this later, but feel free to use it.” (Emma)

“Thank you.” (Keeno)

I sat down on another bed and rested my face in my hands.

{Don’t worry, Keeno, I know you are having a hard time, but tomorrow will help.}

“Hehe.  Emma, I think we should turn in for the day right now.  Make sure no one bothers us the rest of the night and all day tomorrow.  If that commander needs something from me, Freya and Pram can act as my proxy.” (Keeno)

“Understood, my Lady.  I will go clear this with the one in charge of living quarters, then I’ll be back.” (Emma)

Once she left the room I laid down on the bed.

“Huginn, Muninn, you two know what to do.” (Keeno)

My two feathered companions hopped out of my tails and flapped over to whatever was a suitable perch where they started to watch the door.  After I made sure they were doing their job, I closed my eyes.

“Don’t stay up too late, you two.  And Pram, rest, it’s just us in here, so feel free to stop putting up the not as tired as you are act.” (Keeno)

I heard a rustling sound as I assumed Pram immediately laid down.

“Gya!” (Freya)

And apparently pulling Freya down with her.  I chuckled a little before sleep came for me.

Chaos Realm:

Order: And that’s how you make a perfect cup of coffee out of esoteric energy.

Luna: It’s so good!

Tamamo: It really is!  We should tell Java about this.

Order: I’m sure he already knows, just hasn’t figured out a way to make it perfect yet.

Luna: Then how can you?

Order: I had a good teacher.

Luna: Chaos magic is such a cheat.

Order: Says the fox girl that was a walking cheat as a mortal.

Luna: You’re damn right I was!

Tamamo: Ufufufu.  And it was so very enjoyable watching you be yourself, every step of the way.

Luna: It’s not as enjoyable as being with you, though.

Order: …And now I’m the third wheel in my own home.

Astraea: *still asleep*Mama…

Order: Oh well, I’ll leave them to their flirting while I take care of my precious little fluff. *starts to gently pat Astraea’s head*