—----------- Lord Theodore Valarious RazenHeir —------------
[Physique : 57]
[Mana : 63]
[Mind : 45]
[Defense : 47]
[Height : 2.1 metres (6.9 ft)]
[Weight : 120 kg (264 lbs)]
[Martial : 56]
[Arcane : 20]
[Firearms : 20]
[Dark flames of the RazenHeir house : 50]
Hikari stood in the waiting area in front of Lord RazenHeir's study.
Smartly dressed.
She wore her wool sweater, brown skirt, knee socks and loafers.
A fresh set.
Ria made her shower twice before presenting herself.
Her hair neatly tied up in a pony tail with her butterfly tie.
The room was spacious, comparable to her own.
Paintings lined the walls, depictions of the Razenheir house's previous headmasters predecessors.
The door behind her opened
The head maid entered. Two columns of little girls in maid uniforms followed.
They went along the wall, gently feather dusting away.
Hikari observes them.
Skinny and pale, the contours of their bones visible from behind.
"Alright! Finish up, dust off your feathers into the bucket, and get to work on the Madam Knight's shoes."
The head maid clapped her hands twice.
Like a school of fish, they swarm around the huge loafers, making up for their lack of strength with numbers.
"Where are they from?"
"Rescued from the cultists camps, Madam Hikari. They were used as slaves there. The RazenHeir house volunteered to take them in as a gesture to encourage everyone else to take in orphans."
She watched silently as they worked.
"Where are the boys?"
"Courtyard and latrine duty. The drillmaster dreams about them being able to hold a sword some day."
The head maid signals. The girls lined up neatly shoulder to shoulder.
Their mistress inspects their work.
She claps her hands together.
"Let's go! Chop! Chop! The knight has a meeting with the Lord RazenHeir. On to the next task!"
The girls keep their feathers, walking out the door in two neat columns past either side of Hikari.
"The Lord RazenHeir is waiting inside." The head maid closed the door behind her.
Thud. Thud.
Hikari took two strides towards the door.
With a gentle nudge, the wooden doors creaked open.
She found herself in the Lord RazenHeir' study.
It's inhabitant had been off to war for at least a year.
It was recently reopened.
But it was tidy and only a tad dusty.
The Lord RazenHeir's desk stood on the opposite end of the room.
Books and ledgers stacked on either side of the table.
His elaborate armour, rare Runium scales hammered onto an inner fur coat hung on the rack in one corner.
The arrays of runes on his sword glowed in response to Hikari's presence.
On the walls, there were portraits of himself together with Ria, her siblings and his wife.
Portraits of a much younger version of himself with the previous Lord RazenHeir.
She glanced through the paintings.
There was also a full body painting of herself in shining steel plate armour.
The estate court yard in the background. Trees up to her neck.
The Lord RazenHeir stood beside her. His head just above her hips.
On the other side. A woman in sorcerer robes.
She looked straight.
In the center of the room was a huge stool.
It had shiny steel linings and a red cushion on top the size of a queen-sized bed.
It was meant for her.
She looked down.
"Greet me."
A puckering sound. The lord RazenHeir bowed his head back down into the carpet.
The Lord of the estate shuffled to the side to make way for Hikari, all the while keeping his face close to the ground.
Hikari paced forward.
Slow deliberate steps, each making a deep imprint onto the carpet.
Pauses in between.
Lord RazenHeir crawled behind her, following the trail of crushed carpet fibres.
She sits down.
The chair did not buckle under her weight.
It was built to withstand it.
She crosses her legs.
The Lord RazenHeir's desk was a stride away.
Empty.
It's chief inhabitant on his hands and knees behind her.
"Go to your seat."
"Yes, Hikari."
He mutters.
His voice muffled by the carpet.
His hands and legs moves.
He takes a detour around the giant stool.
"Under me."
He stops.
"Yes. Hikari."
He retraces his steps.
Before him, Hikari's back.
Her pony tail reaching down below the seat.
He crawls under her stool and around her shoe.
He reaches his chairs and sat down.
Across the table, Hikari sat with her legs crossed.
Her ruby red eyes.
He was sweating.
"Hands on the table"
The pair of trembling, rugged and scarred hands slowly emerged from below the table.
"Keep them there."
Using all his willpower, he clasped his hands and presses them against the surface of his table.
"Look at me."
He raises his chin. His eyes met hers.
Her gaze would make the most hardened champions tremble.
"Good. You may speak."
His mouth was open, but all that came out were incoherent howls.
Deep breaths.
The veins on the sides of his temple flexed like an over pressured steam engine.
"Greetings, my Lord."
His first words came out.
"Its- good- to see you, Hikari."
He breaths a little easier.
He clears his throat and composes himself.
"There's something very important I wish to tell you."
He takes another deep breath.
"I'm sending you to the academy."
Hikari raised her eyebrow, slanting her head slightly, the white of her eye expanding outwards.
"School?"
"Yes. Not just any school. The spire academy. The gathering of all knights from prestigious houses all across the continent in one place and with one goal, to maximize their potential. "
Hikari looks at him. Her usual cold expression that was impossible to read.
"Explain."
"It is what it is. I want you to attend. You will receive the education that will raise your strength to new height than what would be possible with the resources avaliable to the house."
"I'm not strong enough?"
"Quite the contrary actually. You are incrediblely strong. That's precisely why I'm sending you there. You see, if a student does very well in the academy, they could receive a coveted place amongst the knights of the spire."
Hikari ponders the offer for a bit.
"What of it?"
"A heck of a great deal. It means we can move to the upper levels of the spire city where its safe. It gaurantees the future of our house."
Hikari blinks in confusion.
"What of the estate?"
The Lord RazenHeir's face turned grim.
He leans back into his chair and signed.
"Four territories were overrun in the last campaign. We stopped the orcs by defeating their war chief. But our armies had suffered irreparable damage. The cult of Eon wiped out a neighboring territory. To make matters worse, I hear that the neighboring kingdom of Herdial is heading into recession. If they go, the monsters waves would hit the estate directly."
Hikari fell silent.
She had been living a comfortable life at the RazenHeir estate.
Though she still slays monsters that appears on the borders, they presented little threat to her and the estate.
But now, she feels the realities of the frontline were starting to return to her.
"I'm stronger now."
"That you certainly are. But you alone would not be able to defend the estate again a monster wave that requires a full army to defend"
Hikari was silent.
She took a deep breath.
"I understand."
"Good girl. Now on a more positive note. My daughter, Ria will be enrolling with you. I heard the two of you have started training together. You are strong, but you don't get enough exposure to high society. On the other hand, Ria's martial skills are quite lacking, but her quick wit would compensate. I think the two of you may make a great team."
His tone was more relaxed.
So was Hikari.
A subtle shift in her expression.
"My Lord."
"Yes! Any questions? A new chapter stands before you. I'm sure you have plenty of asks. Ah, It reminds me of when I sent my first two children to the academy before I left for the front."
"Is it expensive?"
The Lord RazenHeir was stumped.
He looks at Hikari, unable to provide a response.
"Well... you see now... the bulk of our resources had been commited to the northern front. The economy isn't doing so great... and... the monsters you are hunting around the estate don't actually sell very well... so..."
Hikari tilts her head.
Her silence was making the Lord RazenHeir more and more uncomfortable.
"But! I have good news! The wyverns had been terrorizing the trade route between Herdial and the Moradale territories. A raid was finally organized. It has the blessings of the Herdial royal house. You happen have a record of slaying wyverns. And your recent achievements in the war against the cult of Eon have drawn the attention of some high profile clients."
"A raid?"
"Yes. Don't worry, I wouldn't be risking you to fight take on the most dangerous part of it. But a supporting role would pay decently enough to make ends meet for us. Oh and on top of that, I have ordered new armour for you. The skin of the king black salamandar. An upgrade for you is long overdue-"
Hikari uncrossed her legs.
The Lord RazenHeir feels the movement of her giant thighs.
He fell silent.
The giantess stands up.
She towers over the Lord RazenHeir.
Thud. One shoe hits the carpet.
Thud! Her other shoe landed on the Lord RazenHeir's table.
"New armour?"
The Lord RazenHeir was sweating bullets.
The shoe was longer than the short length of the table.
He stares up the giantess's knee socks.
The underside of her skirt.
Blood rushes to his head.
"Yes- . I hand picked it myself. Living armour. Like your size, with proper cultivation, it can growth with-"
"Hands on the table."
The Lord RazenHeir's hands emerged.
He fumbles to clasp them together.
"The gold?"
"Yes- well.. don't worry about the gold... we still had some reserves... we used it up to buy you the armour and get you ready for the raid-"
"Oh?"
"I'm sure the raid would more than cover that... glup*... we can still borrow to meet other payments-Tap! Tap! Hikari taps her foot. The sole of her loafer banging against the table.
"My lord's all milked?"
The Lord RazenHeir couldn't reply.
Her last words knocked the rest his composure out of his skull.
He sat at his desk, panting and howling incoherently.
Tap!
The Lord RazenHeir jumps at the force of her shoe.
"Hands on the table."