Sword Side Stories: Primi Sanguinis Occisor: Lan

Sword Side Stories: Primi Sanguinis Occisor: Lan

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Wordcount: 2000

Commissioned by Althero

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Of the three Squires created by Li, one caught my attention. The girl who declared herself eldest was proper in her loyalty. The young man who was quiet was nearly always silent, so it would be a lie to say he did catch my attention. Nay, the one whom captured my interest amongst Li’s new creations was the smallest of the three, with bright golden hair, and who spoke far too well for a mere child!

“Please, lady Occisor, I’m not a fragment of Lucifer!” A likely story slipped out of Lan’s lips. The young boy squirmed in my grasp, while I held him aloft and examined him very carefully. Cherubic cheeks, smallness, and fair features roused within me maternal instincts, despite the fact I did not have child! Some magic was at work. A despicable, craven magic that was likely the doing of my former wielder! Normally, I would simply act in Li’s defense, but now I knew better. I needed to gather evidence on this small, blond boy! “There is no evidence to find!”

Tch, I was dealing with a mastermind of unparalleled intelligence, at least compared to myself. Without evidence, how am I to prove the Lucifer has corrupting this Squire? The obvious has already been ignored. If others saw what I did, a young boy who appealed to my heart by guising himself as a blonde child with Li, whilst I was the only blonde woman interested in him, then they would surely act as they feared me being swayed from Li’s side!

They must see someone else, instead of me, for I was the only being affected by this child in this manner.

His very existence calls for me to take care of him, spoil him, and be kind to him, because he appeared to be a child between myself and Li! And, by some magical means, others did not congratulate me on the fact and I didn’t have to once correct them that Lan wasn’t my child! Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that his true appearance is hidden, that I wasn’t seeing the cute, possible child before me, but actually some sort of magic designed to tempt my away from Li’s side. The same magic was affecting others, altering what they saw, so that they suspected nothing while my heart was swayed!

How clever, my former wielder, for you to be insidious in your attempt to defeat Li!

“I am very flattered that you think I’m cute, Lady Occisor. H-however, I’m truly not doing anything. This is merely how Song-sama created me.” My heart! My body was mighty, but something has struck my very heart! The sensation was so strong, after those words, that I let the possible enemy go and fell to one knee! “Lady Occsisor!?”

What a devastating mental attack! It so easily says what I’m thinking, but makes it so that harms my mind! How can it say such things aloud!? To say that Li would make a child that shared my features and his… GAH! Even thinking it is enough nearly bringing me to utter defeat! My consciousness only remained, because I bit my tongue and allowed the sensation of pain to overwhelm the overwhelming mental assault that was bombarding my senses.

I needed to retreat immediately, so I did!

“Eh!?”

Guh, even fading through to the immaterial, an attack connected with me. When the being that called itself Lang looked surprised, he looked exactly like Li when he was surprised! Despicable! Adorable! Horrifying! Cute! My mind was an utter mess, my heart threatened to explode, and I could barely stand at the sight, as he clasped one hand against his chest and reached out for me the other.

I needed to retreat.

There was no other option, besides complete loss, if I did not!

…

After resting and recuperating, I set about planning my next move.

Logically, the only way I could defeat the mental attacks being sent my way was to attack Lan mentally in turn.

I looked over my assembled weaponry and judged them. If they were not worthy, they would not go with me into battle. Not only that, but there was only so much I could carry on my person, so that I can retreat and attack safely. Though I certainly wished to utilize all the weapons I found capable of meeting my exacting standards, I needed to take only the very best of what I had arrayed for my upcoming battle.

From the information I gathered from the maids, Lan’s favorite sweet was pudding, which I was also a fan of. Gah. Even passively, the despicable creature tugged at my heartstrings. How dare he have something in common with me, so that I would like him more. Still, that choice is a double-edged sword. He will feel the wrath of the very best pudding cups available in the Tokyo Arcology. A limited-time, vanilla custard of which only fifty are made every day! I tried it myself, along with other special puddings across the Arcology, but this one is the very best and will be a fine weapon for my upcoming battle.

That settled the matter of the opening strike, but I had to have a means to prolonging the battle and overcoming my enemy’s endurance.

To that end, I had at my disposal clothes. Simply picking them out had caused me grievous harm, as I had to imagine Lan in each set of clothing, while also considering what damage I could do to “his” pride. Was I to have him wear a maid’s outfit perfectly tailored to his size? Or, perhaps, a butler’s outfit? Maybe, a school uniform for elementary? No. That is too much. The hat, the backpack, and entire rest of the uniform is too much of a double-edged sword. I cannot take that into battle, as it will harm me.

Yes, indeed, the only correct as a means to continuously damage my foe is a coat like Li’s tailored for him… by ME!

Aha! Not only do I declare my allegiance to Li, but he shall be forced to wear the heraldry of the foe he wishes to defeat. A perfect continuous attack has never been put into action until this very moment!

However, it mattered not how grand my attacks were, if I were not capable of defeating my foe completely.

Thankfully, there truly was a child beneath all the malice and cunning that no one else could see.

My final weapon would bring low everything evil about Lan, as he will surely be defeated by the very from he assumed in order to gain victory!

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“Lady Occisor, I am very happy with all the gifts, but the last one is too much for me… and I do not have time to play, when I can better serve Song-sama.” I was aghast. The first two attacks worked, but my ultimate attack and means to victory were utterly rejected in a manner that I could not refute! The PlayBox 7 was pushed into my hands without even being opened and my heart crumbled. “I am very sorry, Lady Occisor. I appreciate the gift very much, but I cannot receive it.”

It’s… it’s fine!

I did my best to shore up my mental defenses, but the counterattack utilized by my foe was too much to bear. Though I could not by physically harmed, I did my best to hide behind the box of my final attack, which had been turned upon me with utter ease. The reversal should have been expected, for gifts can be easily refused, so I should have prepared and planned for the eventuality.

However, I did not.

So…

I…

There was…

Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!? I just want to spoil little Lan, but he won’t let me!

“Lady Occisor!?”

He’s so cute and perfect that I want to spoil him more than Li! I’m falling back on bad habits and making up silly fantasies to justify giving him all the gifts I can. There’s no doubt that I’m disappointing Li by acting in such a silly manner, but how could I not!  Li’s creation had his features and my own combined to form a small, smart, and proper boy who needed to be protected! How could I not do everything in my power to protect him… but he won’t let me!

Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

“Lady Occisor, I didn’t mean to make you cry! I didn’t realize that was why you were acting that way, at all!” And, now I’ve made Lan worry about me. What a terrible person I am. I try to make someone else happy, but I’m so dishonest and incapable that I just make them worry, then they have to take care of me instead.  I just want to spoil Lan and Li. Why is it I can’t do it without making up strange excuses!? “P-please stop crying! I d-don’t know what to do when you cry L-lady O-kuh-occisor!”

Oh no, I’ve made Lan cry too!

Truly, I’m terrible in everything I doooooo!

…

“Primi, tell Lan what you really think.” Li spoke softly and held my shoulders. I made trouble for him that he didn’t need, yet he supported me without question. So, even though it was difficult, I looked across the table and met Lan’s red gaze with my own. “You can do it. There’s no need to be embarrassed or act with pride. Simply say what you think.”

I want to spoil Lan. He looks like a child I would have with Li, but also smart, good, humble, and earnest. Not only that, but he’s very diligent and dutiful. If I can have a child, I would like them to be like Lan.

The words made my face burn. It took everything to not look away, or hold my hand in my face and go silent, but I took strength from Li’s presence—

W-wait!

Li… Li was blushing in embarrassment from just hearing my words aloud!

“Ah… well… it can’t be helped, Primi. Those words are quite difficult to listen to with only a smile.” Betrayal. I felt it deep in my bones, but mostly upon my face. I could only stare at him, as he told me that my aired feelings were so embarrassing that it affected others! He cleared his throat, while I considered hiding away for all eternity. “However, if you’d look, you’ll see that your words reached Lan.”

I almost didn’t want to do what Li asked me to, so strong was my embarrassment, but I pulled through.

For a moment, I was confused, as Lan was no longer sitting across from me.

Then, I followed Li’s gaze and found the small, cute child standing a pace away from me with arms outstretched.

His face was completely red, and he was looking away, but that was typically of a young boy in his current circumstances.

What mattered was that he was offering to embrace me.

Logically, the correct course of action was that I would rise up, accept my failings, and enjoy the fact that I have learned from them. Today, I learned something about myself, and my bad habits, in that I could overcome my bad habits by being honest and truthful to myself and others. Therefore, I should’ve risen up and reciprocated the offered hug.

That did not occur.

My face, already red from embarrassment, turned purely scarlet. The heart beating within my chest, already rapid due to Li’s words, became thunderous. My mind, which had gone still as I considered Li hearing my words, utterly broke apart when I realized that Lan did not merely listen to my words… but understood them completely, to the point where he forgave me without hesitation, and instantly attempted to help and comfort me.

Despite wanting to spoil Lan and Li, I was being spoiled by them in turn.

I understood that I should’ve taken the logical path, but my emotions overtook me, until there was only one thing I could do.

Return to being a sword.

Li sighed and Lan was confused… but… I did not care.

I… I couldn’t!

T-there was no way that I could look either of them in the eye after all of that!

No way at all!