Fire Emblem Protagonist 04
Added 2024-11-01 20:23:30 +0000 UTCHeitor was back inside the most dreadful thing in the world. The carriage.
A place where he was forced to stay close to a traitor, a ninja who was always way too cheerful, and a crazy woman who didn't hesitate to kill. He envied Schult really, who got to just lead the carriage with no worries.
But there was one convenient thing about being near Priscilla, he could test a theory. "By the way Ladi Priscilla, I found this early in the morning. Is it yours?" He handed her a piece of jewelry.
It looked expensive, crazy expensive. So naturally he had deduced that it could only belong to her. Well, the fact that he had found in the ground in the now ownerless mansion was pretty crazy, considering Priscilla didn't look like the type who stuff, but if his theory was right, this was just Fire Emblem logic.
She nodded. "Yes actually. Pig you may be, but once again you prove to have a fine nose." Was this her way of thanking him?
A heart did appear above her head though, so that confirmed his theory.
There were other methods of raising support besides simply fighting together. He had discovered this when he had breakfast with Yae during the morning and also got a little heart, so it was nice to confirm it.
He grimaced. "Right..." Even after she reached C-Rank, she still thought of him as a pig huh? Supports really didn't do anything! "This pig is wondering what his job will be though?"
She tilted her head. "A job?"
He slowly nodded. "Yeah... I mean, you're not gonna leave me with nothing to do, right?" That is not to say he wanted to work, but...
Before escaping Priscilla, he needed to build up some funds. And he was pretty sure she was not just gonna hand him a bag of coins, or whatever this world's currency was, for nothing. So he needed work.
She shrugged. "One typically does not give their dog... or pig in this case, work." She waved him off. "Feel free to just waste around my estate and entertain me here and there."
Aldeberan interjected. "I'm pretty sure my cousin just wants a salary, princess." He read him like a book. "Besides, idle hands do the work of the devil. Er... at least that's what they say back in my world." Did they even have a devil?
Priscilla hummed. "Did I not say I I do not wish to hear about your boring world?" She sighed. "But very well, if my pig wishes to buy his own treats, I shall endulge him. What can you contribute to my estate, pig?"
Ah!? This suddenly turned into a job interview?
Well, he had pretty much asked for it. So he cleared his throat, and tried to seem confident. "I can clean, sew, and cook... Though the latter is definitely not to your standards."
He continued. "Back in my world... in my country once you became an adult you were forced into military service for one year. But it was pretty much just being a glorified maid, so I actually learned a lo—."
"That's enough." Priscilla raised a hand. "Yae, he's now under your care. Use him as you wish."
The maid gave her a peace sign. "You got it, milady!"
That was... easy. Though he supposed he was pretty much already under Priscilla's care anyways. Even so, he expected her to test him a little more, and threaten his life here and there. Though knowing her, maybe she just didn't care about servant work in general to put any thought into it.
Priscilla hummed for a bit, and then came to a decision. "Oh, and Yae, do teach him how this world works. I wish not to have a fool amongst my camp, it would reflect poorly amongst mine fine self."
"You got it, milady!" She just repeated herself!?
The maid then grinned at Heitor. "Maybe I'll put you to learn how to write and read together with Schult..." A giggle escaped her mouth. "Now that's embarassing! An adult learning together with a child!"
He frowned. "Not really."
If she thought she could make fun of him due to his lack of knowledge she would be wrong. He had no shame of being illiterate when he literally came from a different world!
Priscilla covered her face with her fan. "And pig, make sure you do not lose the pathetic combat skills you do have. I will not waste that strange ability of yours." Was he the first butler Fire Emblem protagonist!?
He scratched his cheek. "I'll try not to." It was only a matter of time before he would need to kick evil dragon ass.
And speaking of dragon... "By the way, speaking of dragons... What's the little fella moving the carriage called? My world didn't have beasts like that."
Al was the one to answer. "They're Earth Dragons, cousin. A gift from the Divine Dragon, supposedly."
Heitor chuckled. "I see, what a nice drag—, What!?" What kind of lore was this!? What happened to Medeus the goat!?
"Pig, are just incapable of not attacking mine ears every few moments!?"
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You have triggered a Support Event.
"Ah, I have?" Who had reached the next level?
It could be anyone really, he had spent a few days in Priscilla's mansion at this point. Eating with the servants, learning from them, and occasionally returning a item that was lost. It was almost comfortable, even.
And currently he was cleaning one of the mansion's many rooms.
Yae, who had pretty much become his supervisor, entered. "Yo! How's work goin' buddy?" Was she the person who was going to rank up?
Probably. It was rare for a Support Event to include more than two characters. "As it always goes." He had yet to receive any complaints!
Though he did not know if it was due to him doing fine work, or because he was simply being granted a bit of leeway due to being new at this job. Priscilla didn't seem like the type who would care about someone being new though, he'd bet she would punish a bad servant.
The maid got closer to him. "I see, I see."
He glared at her. "Yae, do you need something...?" Was she just approaching him to be friendly? That was nice and all, but not while he was working...
She pouted. "Like I said, I just wanted to check on you." His stare got even worse. "Ugh, fine... I guess I'm just curious about you. I want to see if you will develop some brand new special ability!"
He sighed. "Why would I?" It's not like he had developed any new powers after his cheat.
She shrugged. "Why wouldn't you? I mean, there's no explanation for your ability, right? You're supposedly from Aldeberan's world, so normally I could chalk it up to that, but... he isn't special like you." He was a time looper!
She must have not known that. "Ah, that's... fair enough, I guess. But I don't think I have any more tricks to pull out of my sleeve."
Now it was her turn to stare at him intensely. "Are you sure?" Yae's smile had completely disappeared.
She asked with such seriousness, that he felt tense for some reason. "Yeah... I'm sure."
She sighed. "What a shame. So all you can do is store items, constantly have a perfect view of the battlefield, and insure perfect communication between allies..." That wasn't true actually!
He could do even more stuff than that!
Cheats allowed a person to cheat. Shocker.
Her eyes widened. "Wait, aren't those talents way too incredible!?" He would accept this glazing. "Geez... you could make pretty far in Vollachia with stuff like that."
Vollachia huh?
He had no interest in that empire. It was a militaristic place where the mighty ruled, which was scary as hell. Most importantly though, they were long rivals of Lugunica. Lugunica being the dragon kingdom.
He knew his fucking Fire Emblem tropes, and so he knew that empire was totally evil! He was half-expectating Vollachia to declare war so that the plot could be kick started even! There was no way he would go there.
But he shouldn't explode on Yae about video game tropes. "That does sound nice... Better than Priscilla at least, but I don't think I will be receive an opportunity like that anytime soon."
One of the good points about being supposed buddies with Yae is that they could shit talk their boss together! Truly one of the most essential activities in any work place.
Her smile became wider. "Who knows, maybe if you keep your hopes up, your lucky day will come, buddy of mine."
Support Event over. Yae Tenzen C-Rank Support has been achieved!
Well, that had to have been one of the most suspicious supports he had ever experienced! The ninja maid was definitely up to something!
She pat his back. "By the way, I didn't actually come here to check on you. Lady Priscilla sent me to fetch you." And she decided to keep Priscilla waiting!? Didn't she know what the nutjob was capable of!?
Or maybe it wasn't her that had come to that decision. A Support Event had started, so... how much of that was Yae, and how much of that was the system that he had been granted?
In actual Fire Emblem, you got to choose if you wanted to see a Support or not, and yet here it was shoved down his throat... It was kind of scary, like seeing a unit of yours had suddenly gotten married out of nowhere in Genealogy of the Holy War.
Though at least these Supports didn't seem to do much.
"So, what does Lady Priscilla need?" He needed to prepare his heart in case she wanted to punish him.
"I dunno."
"That's the worst possible response I could have gotten!"
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"Tomorrow we part for the capital, be prepared, pig." Oh, that wasn't too bad.
It was actually kind of exciting even! Hopefully the capital wouldn't just be a generic city surrounded by a circle wall. Sure Fire Emblem would avoid such a isekai sin, even if it was a isekai!?
He bowed. "Okay, Lady Priscilla." He raised an eyebrow. "Though... why are you taking me?" Plot purposes, perhaps?
She shrugged. "Because today, as I ate an appa, I had the thought... Why do I not bring that useless pig of mine to the capital? That is to say, it was a whim."
His eye twitched. "Got it."
She huffed. "Make sure to be on your best behavior. You do not know of this, but there is where I shall announce my candidacy for the throne of Lugunica." Oh, okay.
What!? "Excuse me!?"
Considering the grin in her face, she definitely wanted to see this reaction of him. "You are excused."
The ninja maid made a worried face. "Are you gonna tell him Lady Priscilla? This isn't the type of thing that can be spread aroun—."
"Did I ask for your opinion, maid?" There was a scowl on her face.
Aldeberan interjected. "It's fine, Yae. I mean, who cares about it at this point anyways? Soon enough everybody is gonna know." Know what!? That this was Fire Emblem democracy edition!?
Priscilla nodded her head. "Well put, Al." And then her gaze shifted back to Heitor. "Now, listen closely for I do not like repeating myself. At this point I trust you are aware that the royal family has passed away?"
Heitor frowned. "Yeah, there's no way I wouldn't have heard of it..." It's when the kingdom started to experience tons of problems, supposedly.
It smelled like a good ol' Fire Emblem plotline just waiting to be solved to him.
Priscilla nodded. "Good. Naturally their deaths is quite the conundrum, but as usual, this was just the world favoring me once again." Wasn't saying that kind of treasonous!?
She continued. "You see, there is a old prophecy to find Volcanica a Dragon Maiden who may reestablish the covenant. That is, the contract that declares he is the kingdom's protector. Essentially, it is a religious position of the highest order in Lugunica."
"However, this prophecy has not just declared one person, five people have been found, including myself, and now we shall compete for that position." She smirked. "And the Council has decided that however becomes the maiden, will also become the king. That is called the Royal Selection."
She giggled. "I will definitely win of course, but as a show of courtesy, I shall at least present mineself at the official start of the event."
Of course she considered herself a winner already...
Ignoring that though... "This is the most Fire Emblem plot I ever heard!" Oh no, Priscilla really was the main heroine! Damn it!
Her smirk immediately disappeared. "Should I have made you a jester instead of a butler? All you seem to do is sprout foolishness..." She shook her head. "No, I should not insult Al with such a comparison."
It was more like she insulted the both of them!
Heitor hid a blush. "S-sorry. Anyways, so I'm guessing this Royal Selection was a secret?" There was a discussion about telling him...
"Indeed, although a open one." Priscilla rolled her eyes. "It was decided that the identity of the candidates would only be announced once the fifth one was found, as a way of allowing everyone to start on the same footing. As if that was possible in any way."
She clicked her tongue. "Other idiotic rules were implemented, such as not allowing candidates to interact with one another, or for a candidate to marry while the selection is underway. Naturally, if any of these rules displeases me, I shall break them as I please."
He wasn't even surprised by that statement...
Aldeberan cleared his throat. "Can't deny that... By the way cousin, if you're wondering, yeah, this means the fifth candidate was found. Though we don't know she is yet..."
Heitor put a hand to his chin. "How are candidates found anyways?" He had to learn more of this.
It was clearly the main plot, and these candidates would definitely be important characters. Either as enemies, or as allies. Hell, maybe this was even a Fates/Three Houses situation and he would need to choose one.
In that case, bye-bye Priscilla!
Priscilla showed him some sort of jewelry. "With this. Do you see how it shine upon mine grasp? Such reaction happens with all candidates. Naturally, more than one exist."
Ah... So it was another Fire Emblem mcguffin.
She tossed it at Al, who barely caught. "And if lost or destroyed, the candidate will most likely be declared as having forfeited the selection." So why did she treat the thing with such little care!?
Oh, duh. Because she was Priscilla. "So, are the candidates gonna target the... jewel thing?"
"It is called the Dragon Jewel." Of course it was dragon related. "I do imagine some mongrels might try to target it, but they shan't fine any luck when it comes to minelf." Yeah, yeah, because the world works on her favor or whatever.
He sighed. "At least now I get why Al calls you princess... Well then, I'm gonna go get ready." Not that he had much he needed to do before leaving.
Maybe he could get his hands on a lance? He did have a Weapon Ranking on it...
Yae bowed. "I shall go do so as well, Lady Priscilla."
Immediately she was glared at. "You are behaving quite foolish today, Yae. I never said you would be making the journey with us." What? "I had a whim for the pig, I did not have a whim for you, stay home and take care of things."
And just like that, Yae dodged a bullet. The best a person could have when working for Priscilla, was to be accepted by her, while not being directly in her line of sight after all.
Yae blushed. "A-as you wish. Even so, should I prepare the Crimson Battlefront?"
Those being Priscilla's more or less private army. He didn't know how such a thing worked, and if the army answered to her before the crown, but he was guessing they followed her due to her status as a baroness.
Priscilla waved her off. "No, Al and my pig bring more than enough force." He wanted to say they didn't, but Al was busted... "For now just keep them prepared. I shall call upon them if need be, but otherwise they should be protecting my lands."
"Understood." The maid did not argue.
Why would she!? She was the lucky one here!
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Earth Dragons were kind of awesome.
Not only were they far faster than horses, which did not exist in this world, they also had a special ability that allowed them to ignore wind resistance. Which meant a journey that would take days for the medieval era of his world, could take a single one in this one. The journey to the capital would be a short one.
Though he would like to make it clear that he did not trust Earth Dragons at all! Any day now they would try to end humanity in the name of dragon supremacy!
"What are you fidgeting about now, pig?" And this is why he didn't like traveling with her.
He looked away. "It's nothing Priscilla." Just thinking about the inevitable Fire Emblem plot.
She squinted her eyes. "I shall accept such a claim right now, but do control yourself when in the ceremony." Yeah, yeah, or she would kill him. "You have been a interesting man until now, forgetting it all would be a shame."
Heitor raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
Al chuckled. "When the princess sees someone she had a interest on embarass themselves, she tends to just forget them." For real!? "No sense in wasting precious memories with failures right?"
Priscilla chuckled. "Nonsense Al. I do remember you." Ouch. "I just have no appreciation for second hand embarassment. Remember it, pig, if I so desire, I will forget all about you." That...
Was way less scary than a death threat! Could this be progress!? Though he was sure Priscilla in her less than infinite wisdom saw it otherwise.
The carriage suddenly stopped. Schult's scared voice rang from outside. "L-lady Priscilla, mabeasts are blocking the road!"
The beasts of the witch... He was still learning about them, but they seemed nothing special, just generic monsters. Monsters weren't a staple of Fire Emblem, but they did occasionally show up in the games... as fodder. So Heitor wasn't scared.
Priscilla clicked her tongue. "Damn pests, and so close to the capital too. Let us eliminate them." Ah...
It seemed the second chapter was here!