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Chapter 61: A Mistake

He looked up when a group notification appeared.

<Congrats! You’ve completed a Rare Side Quest: Continue Operation Domination or let the White Rose give you the VIP treatment?>

Zarian leveled up from 38 to 39. He was one more away from reaching his first class advancement.

Looking over, he saw Naomi was now Level 35. Bianca was now Level 34.

This had turned out to be a fruitful event for them, especially for Naomi. Maybe if she was fortunate enough, she would wake up with new stats tomorrow morning. Maybe she would even get a new trait.

Zarian nodded in satisfaction before looking back down at the case he’d stolen. The case was made from green wood with red rose patterns on the front and back.

He popped it open and smiled down at eight tightly rolled cigars waiting inside. Zarian’s smile grew wider when he used Identify and explained to the ladies what he saw:

<High Rose Bramblevale Cigars (Rare): A high-quality product made in a farm fortress in the Bramblevale region. Smoke this and sacrifice some Agility for a partial boost in Willpower and Wonder. The effect is temporary and also fades quickly after sleep.>

“I don’t have much Agility but I’m willing to lose some.” Zarian looked at the girls.

Naomi didn’t have to say a word. She was all in. Bianca looked unsure. Maybe she would buckle once they peer pressured her.

“Smoking isn’t good for your health,” Bianca said, cringing.

Zarian and Naomi shared a look. They shook their heads at the young woman. Zarian removed a magic cigar before shutting the case and putting it in Para’s pocket dimension.

He used a blade of sharpened darkness to cut off the front end before having Bianca use her abilities to light it up.

Zarian suckled for a few puffs until the burning end could maintain itself just fine. Then the trio walked down the steps covered in metallic silver flowers while the remnants of the former barricade was left in mostly discarded ruins.

Zarian and Naomi passed the cigar between them, enjoying the soothing and confidence-raising effects despite the Agility-debuff.

Bianca frowned at them before turning up her nose. “A princess mustn’t smoke.”

“I don’t give a damn if I become queen of bumble-fuck-all. This is some good stuff here,” Naomi said between swirling gray puffs. “Would’ve been better if I had it with whiskey at night and coffee in the morning.”

“We still have more coffee in the can. We’ll make some tomorrow morning.” Zarian blew out a long draft when it was his turn.

He stopped when they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to look back. The sunset was behind the keep and drew a vast shadow going forward.

Zarian luxuriated in the shadow even though it wasn’t exactly darkness just yet. He scanned the field of silver metal flowers and noted the lumps where the bodies of the Level 50s remained.

“He’s not that strong,” Naomi said. “Well, I don’t think he’s really strong upfront. But he’s definitely skillful. He’s got that old man wisdom, extra stats from all the years he lived and trained, and the right abilities to cut down a hundred men without taking a hit. Yeah, he’s skillful. But I think you can break him, sir.”

Zarian shrugged. “He’s the weakest of the seven. I guess he has to fight smart.”

Bianca frowned at the smoking pair. “Should we really call him the ‘weakest’ or describe him as not strong when he could kill us? Well, he can certainly kill me. I don’t think good +3 can stop him after the initial shock.”

“Think relatively, Bianca. If things work out as we like, we’ll get closer to his level. Then we’ll have a real measurement of our abilities compared to his,” Zarian said.

“I think Zarian can take him out now,” Naomi boasted.

He shook his head at the instigating woman. “Stop hyping me up. You’re going to get me in trouble.”

Naomi responded with a mischievous smile. She was a naughty, naughty woman when the mood struck her.

Bianca huffed. “Well, there are six other White Roses. I’m glad everything worked out, but Arnold gave me a feeling that we aren’t exactly safe just yet. What if the White Rose of Purgehunt or Purehome shows up and goes after you, Zarian?”

Hours earlier, Zarian and the ladies had waited for Cassian to recover from sinning too heavily while good aligned. Then they’d ironed out the legality of their statuses and the many rewards Cassian needed to pass onto the Heroes of the Eternal Garden Kingdom.

Of course, Zarian and Naomi pushed for everything they could get plus more. Way more. They’d left that meeting room like bandits who robbed the crown’s heirlooms and rare treasures, leaving a very defeated Cassian and amused Arnold, the latter staying behind to have further talks with the Bramblevale Lord.

Before they left, they’d even convinced the Bramblevale Lord to lower taxes for the lesser class and turn his gold-hungry attention to his more well-to-do Mid and High Roses. Zarian imagined the old man whose monocle he’d stolen was in for quite the surprise.

That pleased the black wizard greatly. He’d never thought he could get into politics and make huge sweeping changes across a district within a few days. All because he could use smartly applied violence and had a growing supply of powerful connections.

Zarian shook his head free of his musings and considered Bianca’s concerns. There was more behind her downer mood than what she was saying. It made him feel curious.

“I don’t know about the other White Roses. We’ll have to ask Arnold when he pays us a visit again. For now, we keep moving forward. Next up, the manor. Then tomorrow morning it’s me and Hannah at the library.”

Before Bianca turned away, Zarian reached out and grabbed her hand. He pulled slightly, feeling the powerful pulse of her Light Affinity and good alignment inside of her.

Bianca’s shining amber eyes focused intensely into his dark, void-like eyes. The monocle remained the only thing between their faces.

“Sorry,” Zarian said.

Bianca flinched. “No, you don’t have to apologize.”

“It was Cassian’s torment, wasn’t it? That bothered you more than you let on.”

Bianca tensed for a few seconds before loosening up and dipping her head down. “I don’t know if that was right or wrong. I … tortured him. Just because I’m supposed to be very good. More good than everybody in the kingdom. That’s … too much, isn’t it?”

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For the first time, Bianca stifled a cry and held her bearing like a mature woman. “I just want to be a pretty and happy girl in a nice fantasy, helping people and stopping really bad, evil people and monsters. But we just walked away after forcing someone to do what we wanted because he was very scared of me hurting him more.”

Then, in a small voice, Bianca said, “Killing is one thing, but torture is a little too much of an ick for me. No bueno.”

“We can talk about this later,” Naomi said.

“You sure?” Zarian looked between Naomi and Bianca. Then he thought: Of course, Naomi would’ve caught on and tried to downplay it.

“Please don’t be disappointed in me, papi

,” Bianca murmured, head lowering.

He let go of her hand and patted her shoulder. Para reached out with multiple veiny hands and patted Bianca on her head and back.

Zarian held the smoking cigar in the corner of his mouth as he spoke: “I can’t be disappointed, Bianca. You did great today. And you’re so awesome you make the Eternal Garden King sound lame in comparison. But if you want to talk about it later, my door’s always open.”

Zarian gracefully extracted himself, not wanting to intrude any further. Sometimes, his evil alignment gave him some solid, if somewhat twisted, advice.

He had a powerful leadership position. Bianca and Naomi were similar in how they wanted to please him or receive his approval. That also meant he had to take care of how he handled them – unless he wanted to abuse his position.

He obviously didn’t want that.

Ironically, it was better that Naomi take on the troop morale stuff than him. He still made the offer because he wanted to be there if someone needed him. But if it turned out talking to Naomi was easier, then so be it.

They carried on in silence for the most part.

Zarian and Naomi enjoyed the cigar between them. Bianca walked with less cheer and friendliness, but she still made the effort to wave at gawking townsfolk coming out of their shelters.

The market squares came to life, even if only for people to sort out their stuff from the wreckage that had occurred during the rush and panic. There were still markets that operated later in the dark, too.

Zarian heard some bawdy songs from singing bards working at the taverns in the busier districts. The beggars were out in full force as well, asking for any scraps anyone might have to offer them. The townsfolk, at least those closer to the bottom, were less charitable after today’s events.

Suddenly, Zarian drifted off to the side. “I shouldn’t do this,” he grunted around the cigar, smoke trailing past his head.

Naomi and Bianca followed him. If they were curious about what he was doing, they kept that to themselves.

With the setting of the sun, the darkness grew bolder. The public sconce lights activated. Some flickered with difficulty, revealing their age and faults. Some failed outright when Zarian neared them as if a heavy darkness snuffed them out.

A tavern set inside a stone building like any other had a sign promising excellent soup that would invigorate anyone.

A few townsfolk were out sitting at the tables on the front patio. When they saw Zarian heading their way, they stood and evacuated from the area.

Zarian walked into the tavern, and all noise and movement came to a halt. People gawked at him, and he ignored most of them and turned to some soldiers and guards on R-&-R. They straightened up, their anger clear on their faces. They were itching for a fight.

“A round of drinks for everybody. And empty your entire stock of soup for the beggars behind your building,” Zarian demanded. “There are too many starving children.”

“That’ll cost quite the coin, milord.” The man working behind the counter shook like a leaf.

Zarian smiled sharply. “I know it does. Put it on the Bramblevale Lord’s tab. If he doesn’t pay you, then I’ll make sure he does. Consider it a charity effort for the locals who are suffering the most during these harsh times.”

“I’m the one most suffering after the shit you’ve stirred, having a hundred of the highest officers slain.” One guard stood bravely ahead of the other guards and soldiers. He had his hand on his sword while more than willing to speak his mind. “How’d you do it? How’d you turn a White Rose against us like that, villain?”

Bianca sighed, preparing to step forward. Zarian held up his hand to stop her. She shouldn’t have to cover for him all the time.

Yes, it was easy to use her good +3 alignment whenever Zarian faced an inconvenience. But that obviously came with a risk of backfiring. It wouldn’t do for Bianca to lose confidence in herself and become uncertain of their goals.

In other words, it was best to be careful with the goodie-two-shoes. They could be a delicate sort.

Zarian wasn’t the type to be morally delicate. “Fight me.”

The guards and soldiers leaned back in surprise and uncertainty. The talkative one lost some nerve.

Then he doubled down: “You fight me, you’re fighting all of us!”

The other off-duty guards and soldiers looked unsure. But they placed their hands on their weapons anyway.

Zarian chuckled darkly. “I’ve already fought all of you. You’re pathetic. I’ve spared your lives because it felt like fighting mere children. But if I must embarrass you again, I will.”

The interior lights lost their luster. The dark corners grew darker. The shadows deepened and stretched. A palpable force overcame the entire tavern space, infused with a darkness that was heavy and thick, smothering the light further.

Then Zarian drew more darkness from outside, especially from the alleys. They slid over the walls, along the floor, up the steps, through the windows and swirled around the tavern, scaring everyone.

Zarian held back on using his evil +2. That might be too much for them. Besides, he didn’t need it with this display.

A random patron shouted. “Just let the evil bastard pay for our drinks and feed the beggars! Who are you to stop that when you can’t fight worth a damn?!”

Once one patron started, another joined in. “Just leave him alone, okay! I don’t want to be caught up with your problems when you can’t defend our people, let alone yourselves.”

More patrons made their voices heard.

“Silence.” Zarian didn’t even have to speak loudly. His voice was clear, sharp. “Leave your town’s fighters alone. Unless any of you can fight more than you can run your mouths.”

The patrons fell silent.

The fighting men lost some more of their nerve, surprised by Zarian’s defense of them. Now they weren’t very sure of the obvious evil in front of them. They looked like they needed an out to save face.

“The rest of these fighting men’s drinks are on me. Consider it a consolation prize for trying.” Zarian flipped a gold coin through the air.

The barkeep working behind the counter caught the coin. He stashed it away in one smooth motion.

Zarian let the natural light shine through, the heavy darkness receding. “Don’t forget to feed the beggars in the lot behind you. And any others who come along. I will know if you fail to do so.”

He finished the cigar and flicked the remains into an ashtray before turning away fully. Para the Parasite Cloak flapped dramatically behind him, as expected. Naomi walked with a strut to his right. Bianca walked glamorously to his left.

Once they walked out, a huge collective sigh resounded from inside the tavern from everyone there.

“Thank you for doing that,” Bianca said with rising enthusiasm.

“It wasn’t for you,” Zarian said. “There really were a lot of starving kids. More than I can look away from.”

“Still, thank you.” Bianca beamed a smile at him.

“If there are so many kids, why isn’t the military raising them up like Spartans?” Naomi asked. “Or are they just girls?”

“Boys and girls.” Zarian waited a second before continuing. “They’re the undesirables.”

“What do you mean by undesirables?” Bianca asked.

“Ah, I see.” Naomi looked across from Zarian to Bianca. “They’re the ones people would’ve tossed off a cliff or left in the woods during the olden days.”

Bianca furrowed her brow and pouted in deep thought. After a few seconds, she finally realized what that all meant.

“O, m, gee, Zarian, you’re the best!” Bianca cheered. Now her mood was really glowing with glee.

Zarian figured doing more charity work when Bianca, or hell, Gilbert, felt bad would help lighten their moods during downer moments. Or maybe he should actually take those Spanish lessons more seriously and give Gilbert that fishing day off.

A part of his Fractured Mind stored away means to support the party’s morale for later. He wasn’t happy about what he’d done for the undesirable children and the display he made. His evil alignment was shouting at him in alarm.

“That was a mistake,” Zarian said.

“How?” Bianca was once again confused.

“Hm, I see.” Naomi caught on right away.

“Why are you guys being so cryptic? Ugh!”

Zarian sighed. “We’ll have a few more errands before we leave. Apparently, I do care about others.”

He also cared about how others would perceive his kindness and target it as ‘a weakness’ of his. Regardless of how vile and conniving the evil alignment could be, evil +2 was very aware of many pitfalls or maneuvers he or his would-be enemies could fall into. Evil +2 was especially great at predicting what lesser evil-doers would do if they thought they saw an opening at getting to Zarian.