NOVEL FROG Ch.58 – Unwilling Awakening
POV: Darren
'What the hell happened to Dyenna?' He thought after trying to inspect her, finding that in the time he had left Khalrinda's castle, she had not only managed to reach his level, but had surpassed him to the point where he wasn't more able to see it. 'Such a sudden increase in level and in such a short period of time is not normal, something is wrong.'
“Why did you come here, Dyenna? Don't you trust my work?” He asked her slowly shaking his head, “the future queen of Heliolite shouldn't put her life on the line like this.”
“My lady only wanted to reach her beloved sister, so she could be sure that she would be safe,” Shalotte intervened, “I tried to persuade her, but she wouldn't listen to reason.”
“You make it sound like the trip wasn't fun!” Dyenna puffed out her cheeks as she turned her eyes to the leporan, “sure, we detoured a few times, but other than that, I think it was the funniest trip of my life to date. “In any case, I heard in the city that some people who had been taken prisoner by a group of bandits have arrived, coming from the road of the Cloudbreaker Mountains.”
Darren remained silent and looked at Rosalia: it was clear that the girl was experiencing mixed emotions, as if she couldn't understand something... perhaps she had also inspected Dyenna's level? Darren shook his head slightly to himself, he was sure he saw her expression change even before the door of the inn opened.
“It seems that among their rescuers there was a small humanoid monster who for some reason killed the bandit leader,” Dyenna concluded, “I was unable to gather any other information, but it seems that we have a lead to our next destination: the Cloudbreakers.”
“Actually we have a matter to deal with here,” said Darren in a low voice, “the mayor of Stanbroodge has made an attempt murder on my life and that of your sister, as well as those of my other knights.”
The future queen of Heliolite wrinkled her nose, “but you're still alive, so everything went well.”
“Yes, but that's not the point…”
“We have a lead on a monster that could have killed my beloved brother. It's our duty to investigate before the trail goes cold,” Dyenna cut in, “after all, you don't really care about revenge, do you, my beloved sister?” She asked, smiling sweetly in Rosalia's direction.
“Um…” No, there was obviously something wrong with Rosalia, who was trying to act normal when in fact her body language was that of someone dealing with a stranger, “n-no, my dear sister. It's enough for me if he's sorry for what he did..."
“See?” Dyenna asked turning back to Darren, “problem solved!”
“What he tried to do is an insult to the entire kingdom of Heliolite, he cannot be forgiven with a pat on the back!”
“If you really want justice we can return later, or you can stay here while Rosalia, Shalotte and I continue our hunt,” she pointed out, “you've also made a friend among the locals,” she said pointing to the dwarf, “so why don't you stay? After all, it's better if the three most prominent figures in the kingdom aren't all together in the same place..."
The dwarf ran a hand through his beard, hiding a smile as he saw how the man who had threatened and tortured him in the past was being put in a position where he could not react in any way other than bowing his head and nodding.
“You need the escort provided by me and my knights,” Darren pointed out.
“The gods have granted me the power of the Second Awakening. I am now the Blessed Champion.”
'The Blessed Champion... I have doubts about that,' thought Darren, "I'll follow you for safety, protection is never enough."
“So we have a deal,” Dyenna concluded with a sweet smile, “with that settled… it's time to eat, isn't it, my dear?” she asked, turning to Shalotte.
"Yes! Make yourself comfortable, I'll go order and get the food!” Shalotte replied with a hint of a smile.
. . .
The meal was filled with Rosalia and Darren's account of what they had discovered in those days at Stanbroodge and in their expeditions inside the dungeon where Nightmare Tyrant was supposed to be; Dyenna listened attentively and without missing a single detail as she devoured the meal in a way that left both Rosalia and Darren surprised... it almost seemed as if she hadn't eaten in days, or that she had completely forgotten about palace etiquette, the fact is that she was eating at least for two people and she was almost feral in doing so.
“It seems your days have been rather uneventful, except for the mayor's attempt to hire hitmen just because his ego had been bruised,” Dyenna murmured after taking a few generous sips of wine.
“Yes, you could say that staying here was a waste, do you agree, Rosalia?” Darren asked.
However, Rosalia was lost in her own world and didn't seem to realize that someone had addressed her. The girl fluttered her eyelashes, looked at Darren, observing him as if he had spoken to her in another language, and then stood up. “S-sorry, I think… I think I'm a little tired and need some rest,” she bowed to everyone present, “good continuation.”
“I have placed two of my knights at your door and window. If you're ever in danger, just shout and they'll be there in an instant,” said Darren, hoping to be able to speak to the girl privately to figure out what was happening to her without Dyenna being informed. “Have a good rest.”
"Already?" Dyenna asked, almost apologetically, “so… have a good rest, little sis. Try to recover for tomorrow!”
Rosalia nodded, then walked quickly and with her hands closed on the edges of her long and voluminous skirt just to make sure she didn't trip over it.
- - -
POV: Rosalia
Having entered her quarters, Rosalia locked the door and slid to sit with her back pressed against the door. Her face was pale and her eyes contemplated the nothingness in front of her.
SYSTEM: The access to a Prestige Class has been granted. Starting the process of the Second Awakening...
'What's happening? Why are the gods doing this to me?’ She managed to think before her mind was filled with images of lost times and forbidden knowledge.
