Binary Soul

> King Frederick Ferseit PoV <

That’s a five, right? Yeah, that’s five there. Definitely five. That makes this a three, then a four, then another five. Hmm, then that would be two, right? No, could also be a one. Over here it’s the same, and over there it’s a four or a seven. Damn, I need at least one more seven!

*SLAM*

“Your Majesty!” (Percy)

Percy barges into my study completely uninvited, looking all blonde, armored and captain-of-the-royal-guard-y. Normally I’d welcome the distraction, but the thing in my hands needs my undivided attention!

“What is it Percy? I’m rather busy.” (Fred)

“There’s an urgent situation that demands your attention! The lookouts spotted an unidentified shadow over the clouds! It may be a surprise attack!” (Percy)

Oh, now this seems rather promising! The last time Percy said something like that I got to see an Elder Dragon get knocked out of the sky!

“Really now? I must see to this at once!” (Fred)

I stand up and leave the paper on my desk behind. My concentration’s gone anyway, so I’ll finish it later. I head out of the door and walk down the hallway, Percy following close behind.

“Where’s this shadow coming from?” (Fred)

“Directly from above, sire!” (Percy)

Okay. That’s new. The Capital’s surrounded by the Mirelian ocean on three sides, so if anything’s coming at us, it’s usually from the North. I turn towards a different corridor, heading for the closest balcony. This is something I have to see with my own eyes!

“What’s the state of the city’s defenses?” (Fred)

“The barrier isn’t back at full strength yet, sire. We can still bring it up if you will it.” (Percy)

“Let us make sure this is an enemy first, shall we?” (Fred)

“Yes, Your Majesty!” (Percy)

The barrier, huh? That overgrown lizard really did a number on it. Or so I’m told, anyway. The wand-twirlers claim he depleted almost all of the stored magic in the attack, so it would take a long while to recharge completely. That spell was supposed to hold out for close to a month under siege. I doubt the Elder Dragon was actually that powerful, though.

Experience tells me there’s something unethical going on, like stalling for time so they get paid more to recharge it. They probably thought nobody would notice since we haven’t had to actually use that thing in over a decade, but this slacking of theirs just might cost us dearly!

I’ll leave those for later, I’ve just reached the balcony in question. Hmm?

“Shalia?” (Fred)

Seems she was having tea while reading something. Hearing me call out to her, she turns around with a pleasant smile that disappears the instant that she notices Percy.

“Good day, Your Majesty, Ser Percival. Do you require something of me?” (Shalia)

So stiff! I wish this daughter of mine could just be herself. She’s taking this princess thing too seriously! She should just elope with some dashing rogue so I can pretend to hunt them down while they live in peace. After she becomes of age, of course.

“Not right now, Shalia!” (Fred)

Almost forgot this is still an emergency! It's a bit rude of me but she'll understand. My eyes look up at the partly cloudy sky, but I can't quite see anything out of place.

“Your Majesty, there!” (Percy)

Shalia and I both look towards where old Percy is pointing at. Hmm? Oh, I see it! Well, it’s more of a grain than a shadow at this distance, but there’s something there to be sure! It’s coming down at us from quite far up.

“Any response from the Flight Badge detector?” (Fred)

“I’m told that thing is out of range, sire.” (Percy)

“Then go and wait for it to get into range! Come back and report to me the instant you know something! Also, I give you permission to activate the Barrier on my behalf, should you judge it necessary!” (Fred)

Can’t be too careful. Excitement or not, I do have a responsibility to my people.

“At once, sire!” (Percy)

Percy bolts down the hallway. It’s fine to leave that matter to him, it was his timely judgement that prevented damage from that blasted dragon in the first place. I close the door to the balcony so we can be away from prying eyes. Now Shalia can speak freely.

“So what’s this all about, daddy?” (Shalia)

“Lookouts spotted something flying towards the city. Most likely that thing.” (Fred)

“That thing? I can barely see it!” (Shalia)

I really question why Raela raised her this way. It’s pretty sad to see a young girl chained down by these social constraints. Kids should be more spoiled, damn it!

We stare at the grain-sized shadow as it draws closer. I can't make out any details, but there’s no wings and it seems to be moving rather slowly. It takes several minutes before it gets low enough for me to tell what it actually is.

…

It’s a flying chunk of rock? I think I see something on top of it… a tower? It’s rather foreboding. The city's defensive barrier isn't up yet so that probably-

*SLAM*

“Your Majesty!” (Percy)

Percy really needs to stop barging through doors It was endearing at first, but doing it all the time is getting to be annoying.

“We just confirmed the presence of three Flight Badges! All of them were issued recently to Lady Kiressara mil Quasse!” (Percy)

“Hah. Haa haa haa haa haaa!” (Fred)

That woman! As expected she’s amusing! When we were discussing the plans for the future, she was adamant about refusing to leave her home behind, yet still wanted to work in the Capital! I had no idea this is what she meant!

“Now there's something you don't see every day!” (Fred)

“Your Majesty, what should we do? It doesn’t seem to be attacking us, but it’s clearly suspicious!” (Percy)

“Nonsense! Mrs Quasse is our honored guest! Have those wand-twirlers stand down! If we make an enemy of that woman she’s liable to sink this puny city into the ocean!” (Fred)

Percy’s normally stoic face seems to be gripped with despair. Ah… he went and took my joke seriously.

“At once, Your Majesty!” (Percy)

He bolts away as if his life depended on it.  Was this because I let him read the MI’s threat assessment on her?

I mean, if he actually spoke to the girl he’d realize there’s no way she’d allow herself to hurt innocent people like that. Someone powerful enough to break a mountain, yet choosing the path of humility.

As expected, amusing!

* * *

“Wait, she actually did break a mountain?” (Fred)

“Oh yeah! In less than a minute, too!” (Kelly)

“What possible reason would there be for something like that!?” (Fred)

“She couldn’t find the door.” (Kelly)

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” (Fred)

“Kelly! Please don’t say misleading things like that!” (Kira)

“That’s exactly what happened, though.” (Ellie)

I knew it! Throwing another impromptu banquet for this group really was the best! This story of theirs is quite excellent! Shalia was also delighted to see her playmates and they ran off together somewhere.

“There was a giant metal spider! It was an emergency, okay!?” (Kira)

“Giant spider!? How terrifying!” (Queen Raela Ferseit)

Wow, they even got a reaction out of my wife!

“Didn’t stand a chance, though. It got squashed completely.” (Kelly)

“So then you succeeded in waking up that titan of yours?” (Fred)

“Oh yeah! She’s pretty great, you know? She gave me a new arm, see?” (Kelly)

She rolled up the sleeve on her right arm, revealing the gleaming skin beneath.

“Is that… Mithril?!” (Fred)

“Good eyes, Freddy! Yeah, making metal move as if it’s alive is what the Steelmother does best! Well, that and boss people around. She said this was a special service since I fought well for her sake.” (Kelly)

Amazing! I’ve not been privy to titan artifacts before, but this is beyond words! However, I should give her a stern warning.

“Kelly. I advise you not to show that off too much.” (Fred)

“How come?” (Kelly)

“If people found out there’s a way to recover lost limbs, they’d flock to Ecebis in droves.” (Fred)

“Ah… you got a point there. I’ll keep it in mind. ” (Kelly)

Good. That sort of thing is dangerous, misguided rumors would spread like wildfire. I don’t need my subjects suddenly crowding that place’s gates. Ecebis is a complete unknown, so I need to be wary until we can establish formal treaties. Speaking of which!

“Would’t want to trouble those guys after they just opened the border.” (Kelly)

“... So they really opened up the gate that had been sealed tight for over a thousand years?” (Fred)

“Technically I'm the one who broke it, though...” (Kelly)

“What Kelly means to say is that Your Majesty is correct. That’s actually the most important part of our visit - we brought along a dwarven delegation from Ecebis. They’re waiting patiently to be granted an audience with Your Majesty.” (Kira)

“What, just like that?” (Fred)

This is highly suspicious, to say the least. Although not entirely unwelcome if it were true.

“Their Steelmother told them to do it, so they did. They mentioned something about how they had been prepared for this eventuality. Something Your Majesty may have had a hand in.” (Kira)

Ah, that could be it. I did send ambassadors every few years to see if they would speak to us, but we were curtly denied every time.

“And what does this delegation consist of?” (Fred)

“Two senators and an officer from their army. They’ve brought with them quite a bit of weaponry, materials and gifts since they intended to forge good relations and trade agreements between Ferseit and Ecebis.” (Kira)

Senators, huh? Hearing her say that is a good sign. Very few people outside that rock know how that peculiar regent-less country governs itself. The only reason I know is that MI spent quite a lot of time interrogating various so-called ‘exiled’ dwarves about it. It seems to work for them, though.

“Hmm… I see…” (Fred)

Truthfully, a king is mostly needed as a symbol rather than a governing body. I mean, barely have to do anything myself - I just state my intentions for the country and the ministers do all of the work. It sounded like this Steelmother is fulfilling more or less the same role over there.

“Still, I hope you understand this is something I find extremely difficult to believe. Are these would-be senators willing to submit to one of MI’s interrogations?” (Fred)

An interrogator’s lie-revealing magic tools are infamous for how accurate they are. Just knowing those exist is enough for most people to come clean.

Raela gives me a difficult look. She understands what I’m implying, but Mrs Quasse seems unfazed.

“They should have brought official documents and letters of introduction with them. Is that not enough?” (Kira)

“Even if they did bring them, I wouldn’t be able to recognize any of the seals.” (Fred)

“I understand. In that case I’ll make sure they accept the interrogation with no complaints.” (Kira)

“Will it really be that easy to convince them?” (Fred)

The actual interrogation process is harmless, but it’s highly insulting. Asking someone to submit to that sort of thing is the same as saying you have absolutely no trust in them. Well, that’s exactly the case, though. I don’t trust anyone other than my wife and daughter. And my son, to a lesser degree. He somehow came to idolize that fool Rutland, I need to be wary of that boy for the time being.

“They don’t have a choice. I made them promise me they would do everything I tell them while in the capital.” (Kira)

“Really now? And what makes you sure they’d keep such a promise?” (Fred)

Senators are basically temporary nobles, which doesn’t strike me as being particularly trustworthy.

“My wife knows about it. And they know she knows about it. Ellie’s been... tempering their honesty over the last ten days, you see.” (Kira)

“Hmm?” (Ellie)

Her wife stopped stuffing herself with meat and looked around with slightly full cheeks. I guess she was engrossed in the wonderful taste of dragon steak and wasn’t paying attention. She can be quite adorable considering how merciless she is to her enemies. That reminds me-

“Actually, I wanted to thank Lady Ellie about introducing me to those mental exercises!” (Fred)

“Dear, do you mean those papers you’ve been obsessing over lately?” (Raela)

“Yes, those! It looks simple at first, but it’s quite challenging and stimulating.” (Fred)

“So young Ellie here came up with something like that? How remarkable!” (Raela)

Back during our two-day long discussion, I selfishly mentioned I wanted something to pass the time quietly. Then, several hours later, Lady Ellie handed me a stack of paper and introduced me to this wonderful new game! As expected of the (future) Ministry of Progress!

Well, I call it a ‘mental exercise’ so Raela would stop getting mad at me for wasting my time on pointless things. Even though that’s exactly what I’m doing.

“Not really. *Munch munch* Nano taught me. *Munch munch* I just enjoy doing them.” (Ellie)

I see, slight misunderstanding on my part. It’s still quite impressive. This Nano person sounds like a learned scholar, I hope to meet them soon!

“Oh, and I’ve actually solved almost all of them, so could I trouble you for more of those Sudoku puzzles?” (Fred)

It took a while for it to get approved, but here it is - Binary Soul: Lip Service. Hope you fellas enjoy reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Today's chapter brought to you by an infuriating sudoku puzzle that I wasted 90 minutes on before I rage quit. Damn 7s, man!