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Character and setting info: http://pastebin.com/u/MagicalPrincess
Archives (Episodes 1-59): http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Start+Over+Quest
Archives (Episodes 60+): http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Start+Over+Quest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MagicalMarquise
Ask.fm: http://ask.fm/MagicalMarquise
Collection of character descriptions (WIP, courtesy of anon): http://pastebin.com/pzYffs0R
Collection of quest art (NSFW): http://imgur.com/a/2nEyB/layout/grid (NSFW)

>>542218
>>”I’m participating in the tournament.”

Confident Tiefuta!

>>542218
>”I’m participating in the tournament and I have no idea how to win it”.
>”I have no regrets. This is the only path."

>>542218
>>”I’m regretting my life choices”.

>>542218
>”I’m regretting my life choices”.

>>542218
>”I’m participating in the tournament”.
>”I’m participating in the tournament and I have no idea how to win it”.

"I'm participating in the tournament", you confidently declare.

"You what?".

"I'm also regretting the choices I made in my life".

"Damn it Lillith why do you always end up like this?", Bryld sighs, holding her tongue with great and visible effort, showing a nice amount of patience in her dealings with you and your antics, "Sweetie you know you don't stand a chance, do you?", she asks with the tone of a concerned mother.

"I have no regrets. This is the only path".

"Why are you so proud it's like- Look", she tries to not get tangled in your train of thought, "It's okay, we'll just say you were obliged to participate because Tama is under your responsibility, people will go easy on you because they know you're not a soldier and you'll get away from this with your dignity still intact. Maybe they'll appreciate you more, it might not be terrible considering you've been suddenly thrust with responsibility and the majority still don't know what's going on".

Little does she know, a lot of people already know you by fame, or gossip. Also little does she know about your dignity.

"But we'll have to get you something. Armour, a horse... I don't know if I can convince Parvaneh to let you ride her- Is it... Is it okay for centaurs to be ridden? Is it racist?".

"Oh, I have that sorted out already", you spare her the effort, and she looks genuinely surprised.

"Really? Wow, you... Well", she pauses and blinks, "Well I'll be. I'm amazed. You actually thought this through for once, I'm impressed".

Now just what did she mean with that? Nevermind, you don't have time to argue with her about this, especially not while Tama is still busy digging this deep, she's practically more than halfway in and is continuing. Is she doing a moat? "The problem is: I have no idea how to win".

"The tournament?", Bryld blinks.

"Yes".

"I don't think you can?", she says in the most tactful tone she is capable of while also being aware that she cannot hide the truth from you.

“But I want to”, you insist.

“Yes but...”, she gives Tama a glance, then at you, “Lillith, dear, Tama wants cute boys, and… And you know what she wants them for right? I don’t- I’m not saying you’re too young to marry but… I think you should think this trough a while, it’s not something you can do and not commit the rest of your life to. It’s kind of a big decision. Of course it’s not like I agree with the general setup of the tournament but… If Tama’s okay with using and abandoning someone I won’t argue too hard, but I don’t want it to be with you”.

>”Why not? Tama doesn’t want a lifelong partner”.
>”Why not? Are you jealous?”.
>”Why not? This won’t hurt our relationship”.
>”Why not? It’s part of my duty as a priestess”.
>”Why not? You’d have spider kids calling you aunt Bryld”.
>”I just don’t want to lose face”.
>”I just don’t want an inexperienced kid to have Tama”.
>”I just want to win”.
>Other?

>>542240
>”Why not? You’d have spider kids calling you aunt Bryld”.

>>542240
>Other
I just don't want to back down

Notably different from not wanting to lose face

>>542240
>”I just don’t want an inexperienced kid to have Tama”.
Gotta vet dem kids
Also >>542262

>>542240
>”Why not? It’s part of my duty as a priestess”.
>”Why not? You’d have spider kids calling you aunt Bryld”.
>”I just don’t want an inexperienced kid to have Tama”.

Am I the only one who doesn't particularly want to win this? Organize sure, participate yes. But winning doesn't appeal that much to me, especially when it's so unrealistic given Lillith's lack of jousting and fighting experience.

>>542280
I don't expect to win, desu, but I want Lillith to do her best. And someone has to be serious about winning...

"You don't understand", you tell Bryld, who doesn't understand, "I don't want an inexperienced kid to have Tama".

"Oh, so you're just jealous", she crosses her arms with a knowing smirk.

"It's part of my duty as a priestess".

"Getting involved in first person is, too? Really? Doesn't that mean you also have to bear other people's kids?", she looks between the amused and the confused, with a tint of horrified.

"And look at the bright side, you'd have spider kids calling you aunt Bryld!".

"I'm pretty sure I'll have them anyway if I stick with you. And you'll be aunt Lillith too, you just want them to call you Mom, don't you?".

"That's not what I said at all", you cross your arms too, entering the famed arm-crossing contest that Bryld is so good at.

"You just went through a lot of trouble to get where you are and you don't want to lose face, don't you?". Damn, this is why she's so good. But how does she know about what you did with Cassilda? Assuming she knows, that is. She hopefully doesn't.

"What makes you say that?".

"Because I know you. You went through all the trouble of departing immediately with a band of adventurers you didn't know because you wanted to be the one to save Tama, you crossed a sea to get into an unknown continent and went to explore the wilderness because you couldn't bear to stay in a civilized land that had nothing for your ilk, and you're so stubborn you keep trying to light fires with a wand you've been told to be magical, and don't think I didn't see you try. You just put your mind into doing something and you don't want to hear about backing down no matter what it will cost you, even if it does cost you and you might end up worse for wear later. Am I right?".

Well, that was a lot all of a sudden, and she just squints so intently at you that you know you cannot escape the confrontation no matter how hard you try. "Okay, it might also be a matter of pride".

"I'm certain it is a matter of pride, I don't even know what you did or promised to get equipped for a tournament but I don't care. You're going to participate and well we'll do whatever we can. Just don't take it hard when you hit the ground, sweetie", she gently pats your arm, as if she wants to show that she's not really mad at you or anything, even though she clearly disapproves of your conduct, "Do you have colours?".

"Colours?".

"Colours", she repeats, "If we have to be serious about this we'll have to go all the way. Colours and a heraldry, like you're someone really important. Maybe we won't have time for a real coat of arms but I can paint a shield. Can't be too hard, I just won't have a matching tabard, I'm sorry, will you still take me as your squire, lady Lillith?".

>”Gladly”.
>”I don’t need a squire”.
>”I don’t think we have squires”.
>”You’ve been a squire before?”.
>”You seem awfully serious about this”.
>”I thought you didn’t want to do this”.
>Enter colours?
>Other?

>>542288
>”I don’t think we have squires”.
> Red, white, black, gold.

>>542288
>”Gladly”.
>”I thought you didn’t want to do this”.
Clearly we need red. Others, I'm not too bothered.

>>542288
>”Gladly”.
>"Red, blue, purple
Skin and eyes

>>542288
>”Gladly”.
>”You’ve been a squire before?”.
Bryld is asserting her best butt status, elfbutt better watch out.
Actually we haven't really seen too much of Tahe since the vampires attacked huh. Gotta make sure to hang out soon.

>>542306
Oh. And I guess red/blue/purple sounds good too.

>>542288
>”You seem awfully serious about this”.
I'm ok with the scolding, especially since she's so supportive

>>542318
She's the responsible party-member, scolding is her job.

>>542322
Also her job: professional bunnybutt

>>542288
>>”You seem awfully serious about this”.
think need a nap holy hell

>>542332
Oh and also red black red

"I will gladly accept you as my squire, Bryld", you grab a... There's no sticks on the ground, so you grab an unfortunately rather puny pebble that's longer than it is wide and tap her shoulders with it, "I hereby nominate you my squire, forever loyal and provider of painted shields".

She looks quite unimpressed, but slightly amused, "Why thank you, my... Commander, right. You're not a knight, you're a commander. I don't know if the two are related".

"Agnes is a captain and a knight", you remind her. You have no idea what this means or whether this has anything to do with your situation.

"I don't think they're related. She's gentry and has a military rank. You... Well you're not gentry and I'm not sure you're military but you're awfully good at being in a... Grey zone", you absolutely noticed how she glanced down when she hesitated for a moment she cannot lie.

"Anyways, I need my colours to be red and...", well the first one was easy, but the rest? "Blue... Purple... Uh... White, black and gold".

"Okay okay stop right there", she goes, sighing at your lack of familiarity with heraldry, "You can't have that many colours, we don't have time and our resources are limited. Red is fine, but you can't have purple with red, heraldry is supposed to, well, herald who you are, and you can't tell red and purple apart from across a field so that's out".

"Aww", you didn't really specifically care about anything but red but it felt like an appropriate reaction.

"White and black are out too, the dyes are somewhat expensive to make and I don't think I have them available or that I can scrounge them up. It's either red and blue or red and gold. Well, yellow that looks like gold, shouldn't be too difficult. I hope", she explains. You don't really have experience in dyes but she seems to know what she's talking about.

"You seem awfully serious about this, I thought you didn't want to do it".

"I don't want you to go wantonly impregnate someone without a care in the world, I'll grudgingly allow it since she's so eagerly asking for it and I'll trust you when you say this is normal for monsters, but I still don't like it", and she glares at you with a very transparent meaning, "But as for participating in a tournament and not looking like you have no clue what to do? I don't want that either. You'll go there and look credible and decent and get out of this with your dignity still intact".

Haha, if only she know you already threw your dignity to the curbs when you begged Cassilda to give you the stuff you need.

“You’ve been a squire before?”, you ask her.

“No”, she openly admits, puffing her chest with pride for some reason, “But I will gladly be one for a day”.

>”Er, about my dignity…”.
>”I still won’t get to win”.
>”Is it because you read a pillow book about forbidden love and want to try it yourself?”.
>”What’s Tama doing?”.
>”Where’s Tahenohan?”.
>Other?

>>542339
>>”What’s Tama doing?”.

>>542339
>”Is it because you read a pillow book about forbidden love and want to try it yourself?”.
Tease tease
Bunnybutt a cute

>>542339
>”Is it because you read a pillow book about forbidden love and want to try it yourself?”.
>”Er, about my dignity…”.

>>542339
>”Is it because you read a pillow book about forbidden love and want to try it yourself?”.
>”Where’s Tahenohan?”.

"Is it because you read a pillow book about forbidden love and want to try it yourself?", you tease the bunnybutt, who promptly blushes, especially as soon as she realizes she's blushing, which turns her even redder.

"Oh am I right?", you continue, twirling her hair playfully, "Serving faithfully in someone's shadow, praying for his success, living to receive a word of praise, dreaming every night to have a kind caress... And then weep when he marries the one promised to him since he was a child even though you're the one that loves him the most- Wow", you blink, "I didn't know you were into this sort of thing!".

"I hope you hit your face when you will fall from that horse of yours", she squints, apparently into humiliation play too. Well that makes two of them.

"Oh come one now, maybe I will win, strut in front of the galley and say "No, my lords, I doth not desire thine daughter's hand, for I hath found true love", and ride away in the sunset with you", you smile, proud at your impression of Old Midgaardian.

"And leave your monster wives behind? How irresponsible of you", she rolls her eyes but can't help but curve her lip in a hint of smile.

"Speaking of monster wives... What is Tama doing?", you can't help but ask since she's really hard at work, and quite enthusiastic too.

"Oh, well she's always had her home on trees, but since there aren't any around here she can't build herself a web. Since there's, well, there's nowhere to attach it", she waves at her surroundings, where there is a distinct lack of trees that you're already quite familiar with, "So she opted for an underground den".

"Really?", and she's a fast digger too, it seems, throwing piles upon piles of dirt behind her. There's plenty of people on top of the wooden ramparts that are just watching her work.

"Well she does need something above her head, especially for when it will rain", she shrugs, "And you've seen how large she is, we can't just put her inside a tent, we don't have one large enough".

"Won't her cave get flooded if it rains too heavily?", you wonder.

"She said not to worry about that", and Bryld just shrugs, "I don't know I kind of assumed she knew what she was doing".

"Where's Tahenohan?", her absence can be, as always, a reason for concern in the first place.

"She said she was fetching some... Materials for her craft. I think she meant cheese-making but I can't tell how honest she's being", she shudders, "I just hope she's not going to build skeleton warriors in the middle of town. People were attacked by the undead here, she can't be that naive, can she?".

She stares at you with a distinct note of concern, at which point you are basically forced to smile confidently and say "No, no, of course she won't".

>… But you want to check on her anyway.
>And it’s high time you prepare your equipment.
>And you should learn to ride a horse.
>And you should learn to fight.
>Other?

>>542385
>And it’s high time you prepare your equipment.

Let's let Tahe Tahe for once.

>>542385
>And you should learn to ride a horse.

>>542385
>>And you should learn to ride a horse.

>>542385
>… But you want to check on her anyway.

Last time you trusted Tahenohan to stay put and do her stuff, she put you in this situation.

Of course it turned out to be not as bad as Bryld first thought, and she too eventually came to accept this. She's even unexpectedly eager to help you out, even if you suspect she really is going to enjoy seeing you fail at winning Tama's hand, and be somewhat sorry at the same time.

Then again Tahenohan has also been capable of being on her own without blowing up anything or killing anyone. Heck she's been a night out with your father in a casino and no one died, that ought to count for something, if these two together didn't set Reboldeux on fire you might say it's okay to leave her alone and unsupervised.

Besides, you need to focus on more pressing matters. The kind that require your immediate attention because you're going to need to prove your ability with them really soon.

You have to learn to ride a horse.

You've been on the back of a donkey a few times when you were a child, and you once tried to ride an ox to get it to move out of the way and stop blocking the damn road, but that worked out as well as you'd expected. You briefly wonder if Pam is wont to get stuck somewhere she's not supposed to and just stay there, too. You don't think it'd be easy to move her.

Considering you only have one day to get ready and that riding isn't tremendously easy, you immediately get to work to find out who's going to lend you a horse and where it is, because you of course need to test the beast out to make sure it will obey your commands once you'll be up for jousting. Hopefully. You at least need to lose with dignity.

You end up faced with a most curious specimen. A soldier of undecipherable age with the messiest blonde hair you've ever seen and a grating, high-pitched voice, and the kind of blue eyes that speak of a genuine sincerity that almost hurts. The problem is that said specimen is holding the reins of a giant toucan bird with a long, colourful beak and a bright plumage, orange on top and grey-white on the underbelly, with a tint of red and blue along its vestigial wings. It has an oddly-shaped saddle, stirrups and everything.

"What is this?", you ask, even though you already know the answer.

"It's a PecoPeco", the soldier answers, her voice grating and high-pitched, "You asked for one ain't cha?".

"I thought I was to be given a horse".

"Nay mate, no horsies. PecoPecos it is. Did ya know they were imported centurays ago from these very lands? Who'd have thunk, eh?".

The animal stares at you from its eyes, placed not far from its quite visible blue and red beak. It seems peaceful and completely surrendered to its own state to the point it doesn't care. Then again it's a bird and birds are unpredictable.

>”I can’t ride a PecoPeco”.
>”Please teach me to ride it”.
>”I’ll take it from here thank you”.
>”Can’t I just have a horse?”.
>Other?

>>542452
>”Please teach me to ride it”.

>>542452
>>”Please teach me to ride it”.

>>542452
>”Please teach me to ride it”.

>>542452
>”Please teach me to ride it”.
Damn I keep being late to the vote, at least it's unanimous this time.

"Please teach me to ride it", you're on your guard to not sound like begging, this soldier looks like she might not have the same impeccable foot hygiene Cassilda has and you've restricted yourself to not be on your knees licking someone more than once per day at best.

"Ey mate, ya never been on a PecoPeco?", she sounds somewhat surprised but still easy-going in the way where she has no idea that this might cost you your dignity if you're incapable of showing up at the tournament on your own, "Who taught cha to fight?".

"This is not important, what's important is that I have to learn to ride one. It is very important", you stare intently at her so she understands just how important it is, to the point you wonder whether you should say "important" another time, just to be on the safe side. "The question is: can you help me?".

"Ay mate I can help cha", she also has an accent you can't quite put your finger on. She must come from somewhere up North, but you've never been even close to Prontera, you're a bit bad at geography and local cultures, "It's not difficult though. Bird's a real smooth baller, it'll carry you anywhere mate. Ya not need to be afraid".

"I'm not afraid, I- Look just teach me okay?".

She was right about one thing: the bird is... Well, calm, that's what you think she meant. Fortunately it's not very tall, it's a bit shorter than Parvaneh and therefore it's relatively easy to climb up on it, also thanks to the stirrups. Once you're on top, however, you had to grab the saddle just to not fall backwards and hit your head in a way that would have been most painful.

"Y'okay mate?", the soldier asks as you battle with the concept of standing upright and grabbing the reins to not fall over. You also yank them a bit too much and the bird shuffles backwards, with the aid of a bit of wing flapping, which nearly makes you lose your foothold on the stirrups and fall over for real.

"Whoa easy mate, it's not going to flee cha", the soldier comes and pat your legs, which is when you realize just how tense your muscles are, and you get the distinct feeling the PecoPeco can feel that too, "Just relax, this one's a calm baller, it's not gonna ride off or anything".

You struggle with it, you struggle with the concept of holding for your dear life with stirrups and reins both, and that this damn saddle keeps giving you the feeling that you're just one gust of wind short of sliding backwards and falling off and hitting the back of your head to the ground. Why is this saddle so high in front of you and completely open behind? It doesn't make sense.

You also have to keep the reins pulled or the PecoPeco will just look down and start pecking the ground and eating grass and not move. Also, when it bends down like that... Let's just say that's how you found out that the saddle isn't mounted backwards. You nearly fell off there.

Riding spiders was easier.

>Continue

>>542505
Poor Lillith is gonna be so sore after this.

>>542519
Not as sore as riding a witch's broom

Most of the afternoon went away in a flash.

It took all that time to be able to train well enough to not fall off the saddle. Which happened, a couple times. Once when you accidentally kicked the bird's sides and it went off at a gallop you were completely unprepared for, and again when you decided to climb up on it again after lunch but started with the wrong foot, literally, and the saddle really isn't made to save you from the mistake of climbing up the wrong way.

As soon as your nose stopped bleeding you got back up in the saddle and had to force yourself to get over the fear of falling yet again and the subsequent humiliation this would give you if it were to happen during the joust. At some point you also considered just dropping out and sparing yourself the pain and embarrassment, but you only fell twice which the soldier schooling you said was "Okay for a new mate".

You're not sure it was a compliment but you took it as such, convincing yourself it meant you're the new goddess of the saddle or something.

But at the end of the day, you're someone whose thighs hurt a lot, and your lower back too, to the point you feel that even just lifting your tail sends you a feeling of numb pain, and you're forced to keep it low and droopy, which of course gives the wrong impression about your state of mind to anyone who's used to be around you.

Like Bryld. "Anything wrong?", she asks, in fact, but doesn't wait for you to answer and instead just pulls up a shield she's been painting in her spare time. It is red and blue, vertically divided ("per fess", Bryld said, whatever that meant) and... Well, it's just that, it's simple but it's your shield. You also can't help but notice how she's wearing the same tabard the rest of the soldiers are wearing, although unfortunately she's not practically naked underneath, which kind of defeats the point of said attire when you're not even a real soldier.

This means, however, that your equipment did arrive. At least kneeling before Cassilda, licking her feet and calling her mistress actually did something good for you, although you suspect you will have to do it again and again and again... Hopefully in exchange for more favours.

"REPENT, FOR TOMORROW YOU DIE!", Tahenohan is being Tahenohan while wearing an iron chestplate that's obviously too large for her, and kind of makes her look like a particularly mean tin can.

"There's a tabard for you too if you're into that sort of thing. Yours has a different colour though. I asked if they had one for me too so I could accompany you tomorrow", she smiles, though she's half-hiding behind the shield, still kneeling, "Do you like it?".

"I HAVE NO FEAR, FOR I AM DEATH INCARNATE!".

>”It’s lovely”.
>”Get up so I can… Examine you”.
>”Thanks for the shield, I love it”.
>”I expected something better”.
>”My everything hurts”.
>”Riding spiders was easier”.
>”I’m so going to lose tomorrow”.
>”I’m so going to win tomorrow”.
>Other?

>>542530
>”It’s lovely”.
>”My everything hurts”.
>”I’m so going to win tomorrow”.

>>542530
>”It’s lovely”.
>”My everything hurts”.

>>542530
>”It’s lovely”.
>”Get up so I can… Examine you”.
>”Riding spiders was easier”.

>>542530
>”It’s lovely”.
>”My everything hurts”.
>”Riding spiders was easier”.
>”Get up so I can… Examine you”.
Squire Bryld a cute.

"It's lovely", you praise her, and she smiles so brightly you might have been blinded for a moment. Which is way better than being blinded by some random dirt being thrown about, Tama looks like she's building a literal dungeon, the very long ramp that descends down has reached a place where it became a real tunnel and a cave, down in the darkness, devoid of light, but she's no longer working on it it seems. Instead, she's spinning some web and collecting it around a spool that she operates with her human hands while her pedipalps carefully pull the silk from... Somewhere beneath her, you're not sure where exactly her spinneret is.

"But riding spiders was easier", you confess; you almost thought about sitting down right next to her but your butt and legs both are very clearly telling you that if you sit or sprawl down now there is absolutely no way you're getting back up before tomorrow. "Damn, my everything hurts...".

"Are you alright?", Bryld gets up and performs a very superficial check-up on you. Of course there's nothing that shows, even if your nose were to be a bit redder than usual you wouldn't blame her for missing it considering you're already very red all the time, "Don't push yourself too hard, you're not going to be able to participate if you can't get up tomorrow".

And that would be the worst humiliation, so it just cannot happen, "I'm not letting something like thaaAAAAAAA".

A cold feeling runs down your lower spine, flowing through your tail and down to the tip and sending a freezing shock down your legs, which actually kind of soothes your tense and numb thighs. It feels like someone toyed with your back with ice, sensually rubbing it on your naked skin, but you're certain that can't be the case. Where would one get ice in this weather, anyway?

"Can't help you with the muscle", Tahenohan chirps from behind you, and you know she has a manic grin on her face even though you can't see her, "But I can make your bones feel a little better".

Oh right, she's good at bones, and also at magic that deals with the cold. You never would have thought she could use it this way though, and if she did, why didn't she make use of it in the sack too? It would have made the heat a lot more bearable. Not that your experiences with her haven't been great until now, quite the contrary actually, but still...

... You absolutely cannot complain, no. Even Bryld doesn't say anything. She looked like she was about to seeing the faces you made, but Tahenohan is Tahenohan and that doesn't mean she doesn't have the right idea every once in a while. Or maybe all the time.

You grab onto Bryld, and give her a good look. These tabards are quite boring and uniform, though that's the point you presume, and not made to be sexy at all.

>”You’re not supposed to wear clothes under this you know?”.
>”You’re such a cute squire”.
>”I need to make dinner and then go to sleep, I’m bushed”.
>”Tahenohan why don’t you have a tabard?”.
>Other?

>>542557
>”You’re not supposed to wear clothes under this you know?”.
>>”Tahenohan why don’t you have a tabard?”.

NO ULTERIOR MOTIVES. NONE.

>>542557
>>”I need to make dinner and then go to sleep, I’m bushed”.

>>542557
>>”You’re not supposed to wear clothes under this you know?”.
>>”You’re such a cute squire”.

>>542557
>”You’re such a cute squire”.
>”You’re not supposed to wear clothes under this you know?”.
>”Tahenohan why don’t you have a tabard?”.
Cute!

>>542557
>”You’re such a cute squire”.
>”Tahenohan why don’t you have a tabard?”.

"You're not supposed to wear clothes under this, you know?", the fact that you're constantly shivering and making strange faces and speaking in a strange, broken and somehwat trembling voice is making you sound more of a freak and a pervert than you normally are, but you can't help it. You feel these cold pulses are actually making you feel good, and not just in that sense: it's helping the tension of your thighs and to relieve the back pains a little. You can't ride if your spine is locked in place, after all.

"Yes I am, and I will", Bryld notes deadpan, "I'm going to be a proper squire, and you better be a proper knight".

Of course, she can't be all the fun all the time, "You're such a cute squire", you tell her in that strange tone as your tail instinctively curls up and twitches about a little as cold shivers keep pulsing down its length. If Tahenohan keeps doing this you might need to relieve another kind of tension soon and it won't be your own dirty lewd mind's fault for once.

"Tahenohan, why don't you have a tabard?", you ask her, half-turning your head. As a matter of fact, she still has that oversized chestpiece on her.

She stops what she's doing for a moment, gives you her manic smile, and then goes "Why? I'm already naked under my-".

"TAHE!", Bryld nearly dives to pull the half-elf's tunic down, right when she was about to pull it at about waist height, possibly even higher, just to prove her point. That she, indeed, doesn't wear anything under that strange robe of hers, and this you've had more than one chance to make sure of. And then Tahenohan just grins at Bryld, who glares up at you, because of course it's your fault, you knew from the very beginning the half-elf was going to do this, and there's this silent agreement between you and Bryld that Tahenohan isn't to be considered accountable for her actions all the time. Otherwise, why keep a close eye on her most of the time?

And then you're reminded that she might be old enough to be your grand-grandmother and yet she enjoys this tremendously. You can read it on her face, it's so obvious.

"I'll just continue later", the necromancer promises with one of her usual looks, and Bryld grumbles something under her breath.

"You just sit down and rest", she then says, "I'll make dinner. You need to be in top condition tomorrow, we can't have you go to a tournament with a sore back and on an empty stomach, can we?", she then pushes your lips closed with her finger, "And tonight you rest. Okay? Rest. Rest is paramount".

She’s really taking this seriously. Did she forget you have zero chances of actually winning?

>”But I need a distraction, or the tension will keep me awake!”.
>”But I won’t have any chance of winning anyways”.
>”What if I need my cute squire’s help to get through the night?”.
>”Aren’t we forgetting something important?”.
>Other?

>>542587
>"Okay".

>>542587
Are we forgetting anything or is that option just a trap?

>”Aren’t we forgetting something important?”.

Or just
>Pass out.

>>542587
>Grab her in a cuddle.
>"Thanks for being helpful, Bryld."
Time to appreciate.

>>542587
>"Okay"
>Kissu
>"I'm glad you care."

>>542587
>”Aren’t we forgetting something important?”.
I am

"Okay", you go, at which point Bryld is admittedly quite shocked and surprised, expecting everything but this from you. As she stares dumbfound and flabbergasted at the idea you just gave up, you grab her, kiss her forehead and begin to cuddle her. "Thank you for being helpful, Bryld, I'm glad that you care this much".

Still completely paralyzed from the shock, it takes a while before Bryld squeezes you back, which pushes your breath out for a moment and prevents you from drawing more in due to the strain on your back. Nope, it's still not okay, you'll have to ask Tahenohan to take better care of it or tomorrow you won't be able to ride. But, for now, it's okay, "Sweetie, of course I care".

You forget about everything for a while, content in your embrace, letting all your tension and concerns go. Even if it's just temporary and it isn't some kind of magical ice treatment, it does make you feel better. The pain when you fell flat and hit your face, the pain in your thighs, the pain when you hit your butt that hard and could hardly sit again for a while, it's all gone. Not for long, but it's gone. But what this embrace does best is cure the pain of when Krystal said Bryld would never be happy with you, even though rationally speaking her arguments had a decent foundation.

You were willing to forget about it all, until something triggers within you. Forget? Forget?

"Aren't we forgetting something important?", you ask. After a brief, awkward pose, Bryld breaks the hug and stares at you with a wide-eyed expression. Oh so you're not the only one.

"Oh!", she goes, "Oh right! A harpy came looking for you. Uniform and everything!", she sounds amazed, and you can't blame her. A harpy with a uniform? That's something you've never seen before, "I told her you were busy right now and she just... Well she said she'd be back later and just took off and I have no idea".

Oh right, there's a harpy that the army is using as a messenger and being a harpy she's supposed to be under your tutelage now. Unfortunately, she's a harpy so there's no telling what that bird-brain is thinking or where she's going.

You look at Tahenohan, but she has a happy expression as she stares with dreamy eyes at the two of you. "Ah don't mind me, I'll leave you alone. I'll finish working your back later", she winks at you and then hops away, without a care in this world, humming a strange song.

"... I don't think she got it", Bryld states the obvious before you do, but then again someone had to.

"Maybe that harpy just forgot", you claim. Might be the best case and also most likely scenario. The soldiers themselves seemed amazed that she could remember orders in the first place.

But you’ll have to deal with this another time. Now it’s late, you need dinner and rest, for tomorrow you fight for Tama’s hand. And Tama seems to be halfway done preparing her love dungeo- home.

It’ll be a fun ride.

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167 KB PNG

And this is it for Episode 74!

Thank you all for participating, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Next week we'll finally get to the tournament itself. Good job securing the equipment anons.

Remember to follow my twitter for running times, and I'll see you all next week!

>>542635
I wonder if Tama is weaving any red threads.

Thanks for running! Lovely chapter today

>>542635
Thanks for running MP! Love ya!

>>542635
See you next week, was a lot of fun.