Reward

'It's slow...' thought Andrew, staring at the Zagnhol passing beneath him while flipping, slow-motion, upside down through the air. His perception of time was already enhanced before his acquisition of Auto-Haste. With it, he felt like he could count to thirty in the interval it took the Zaghnol to charge past and for him to land on his feet.

Seemingly forgetting it was fighting Andrew, the Zaghnol began trashing the liquor store it crashed into, giving the former a decent idea. All of the buildings and residences in Lindblum were insured for any damages they sustained during the Festival of the Hunt, so without too much hesitation, he pulled out a grenade, courtesy of Final Fantasy 8, and tossed it into the store, aiming for the gap between the very obviously male Zaghnol's legs.

Though the explosion wasn't as big as Andrew expected, it seemed to be more than enough as the Zaghnhol unleashed an ear-piercing squeal, its back legs, now tattered and bloody, giving out. Unfortunately, though it was probably for the best, the broken bottles of alcohol didn't explode as Andrew predicted. Instead, a fire broke out, but due to most of Lindblum's buildings being designed to prevent the spread of flames, it only affected the storefront without crawling up the stone walls and affecting the upper levels of the building.

Taking advantage of the flames and smoke, Andrew rushed toward the flailing Zaghnol, equipping what looked like a revolver, but the barrel was much longer and wider. Its stock resembled that of a flintlock pistol, long and slightly curved, and the underside was tapered, allowing it to function similarly to an axe if the user ran out of ammo.

Sidestepping the Zaghnol as it jerked its head toward him, attempting to impale him with its tusks, Andrew felt a strange sense of fascination as he slowly brought the barrel of his gun up to the fiend's eye, watching as its pupil expanded and contracted in slow motion. He could see the muscles in its neck and body strain as it tried to forcibly change the direction of its attack, but it was simply too slow...

Squeezing the trigger, Andrew immediately regretted standing so close to the Zaghnol as blood and fluid from its ruptured eye practically exploding splashed back faster than he could evade, staining his clothes. Even more surprising was that the Zaghnol continued thrashing about despite what he believed to be a well-placed bullet, forcing him to somersault over its tusks as it swept its head toward him.

Taking advantage of the inability of the Zaghnol to change the direction of its attacks quickly, Andrew obliterated its second eye midway through his flip. However, even that wasn't enough to stop the Zaghnol from thrashing around, forcing Andrew to empty his remaining four rounds into the fiend's head before getting slightly annoyed and producing a second grenade...

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Though he wasn't particularly fond of being put on the spot, Andrew did his best to appear calm and cool as Artania declared him the Festival of the Hunt's champion to a massive crowd. He was a little surprised to learn his score of 317 Hunter Points was only the sixth-highest in the event's history, but as it had been going on for more than five hundred years, it was expected that at least a few exceptionally talented people would appear. Chief among them was the first Cid Fabool, earning a ludicrous 942 Hunter Points and becoming the first Regent of Lindblum as a result...

More important than the recognition Andrew gained as the champion of the Festival, at least to him, were its prizes. In the game, the player could receive 5,000 Gil, a Coral Ring, or a Theater Ship Card for use in the 'very' popular card game, Tetra Master. In reality, the cash prize was 50,000 Gil and a badge denoting the champion's status as a Master Hunter, allowing the wielder to request an audience with Cid and enjoy a discount of up to 20% in Lindblum's shops, albeit with some necessary restrictions...

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Following the award ceremony, which was even more exhausting than the Festival, Andrew returned to the castle with Artania. The next item on his itinerary was the longstanding tradition of the Festival's champion dining with the current ruler, but before they could reach the elevator that would take them to the upper floors, Andrew's and Artania's paths were blocked by Zidane, Freya, and, most notably, a smiling Garnet. However, unlike her usual smile, which seemed to illuminate the world around her, Andrew got shivers when he saw the cold gleam in her eyes.

"Great job, Andrew~!" exclaimed Zidane, smiling unabashedly and giving a thumbs up despite the visibly glowing handprint decorating his left cheek. It didn't take a genius to realize he had done something to offend Garnet, causing Andrew to frown and ask, "What did you do...?" with a half-lidded, deadpan expression.

Standing with her arms crossed, Garnet cast aside her smiling make and took it upon herself to answer, "He remarked on my bottom and motioned as if he were trying to touch me, so I slapped him."

"Yeah, she did~" mused Zidane, rubbing his swollen cheek without losing his smile. He hadn't been serious when he reached for Garnet's butt, but as she had no way of knowing he was teasing her, he didn't blame her for slapping him. Rather, he considered it an honor. After all, not many people could say a Princess had personally struck them. It was a shame she was wearing gloves...

"Please don't do anything that might obligate me to fight you..." muttered Andrew, exhaling a sigh. Fortunately, while Zidane was an opportunist, he wasn't a fool. Garnet made it apparent she wasn't receptive to teasing, so he would have been more mindful even without Andrew's warning.

"I'll keep that in mind," replied Zidane, giving Andrew a weak punch in his shoulder before exclaiming, "Anyway, enough talk! Let's feast~!" in a high-spirited tone.

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After heading to the upper levels and introducing Zidane and Freya to the transformed Cid, Andrew had the honor of standing next to Garnet as the group stood around a table sporting a veritable mountain of food. It was a tradition during the feast to stand and eat with your hands, so, following a customary speech by Cid, everyone began digging in.

"Wow, this food is delicious...!" exclaimed Zidane, biting into a large piece of bone-in ham slathered in gravy. His behavior earned him a disproving look from Garnet, but when she saw Andrew dip a turkey leg into a bed of mashed potatoes before using a ladle to cover it with savory brown gravy, her expression softened a bit.

Waiting until everyone had a chance to get at least a meal's worth of food in their bellies, Cid changed the festive atmosphere to a more serious one by stating, "I have news regarding Burmecia."

"What's this all of a sudden...?" asked Freya, not expecting Cid to name-drop her nation in the middle of a feast.

Nodding his skull-like head, Cid responded, "Sir Ashford here assures me that the two of you can be trusted. I have reason to believe him. As such, I shall speak candidly henceforth."

Directing his gaze to Freya, Cid revealed, "Burmecia is currently under siege by Alexandria's forces and a group of mist-powered automatons called Black Mages. We dispatched reinforcements, hoping to cut off Alexandria's supply line and pincer them with Burmecia's forces, but we severely underestimated their capabilities..."

Realizing the issue, as well as his oversight, Andrew muttered, "They can teleport..."

Nodding in affirmation, Cid confirmed, "That is correct. Thanks to your intel, we arrived in time to execute the pincer attack, forcing Alexandria's forces to congregate. When we later tried to approach them to discuss terms, however, we found their camp was empty, leaving only their tents and a few decommissioned airships in their wake."

"And what of my home? What of Burmecia!?" demanded Freya, no longer caring about the feast before her.

Returning his gaze to Freya, Cid answered, "As I said before, Burmecia is currently under siege. However, it isn't an ordinary siege, as there are no armies standing at her gates. Instead, Alexandria's naval fleet is anchored in the gulf to Burmecia's east, teleporting in their Black Mage soldiers and shooting down any airships that attempt to surmount the mountain..."

Interrupting Freya's outburst, Cid held up his insectoid left hand and said, "Fortunately, thanks to Sir Ashford, Burmecia managed to evacuate many of its residents to the south. Alexandria attempted to cut off their escape by capturing Master Gizamaluke's Grotto, but we were able to repel them and secure the route. Most of those who remain in Burmecia at this point are soldiers and Dragoons that have chosen to defend their home till the end."

"And what of the King...?" asked Freya, calming down a little after hearing most of her people were safe.

"I'm told he escaped west to Cleyra," replied Cid.

Feeling the strength leave her body, Freya exhaled a profoundly relieved sigh as she plopped to the ground. She had heard that Alexandria had been building up its military, but such rumors had existed since she was a child. Had she known there was some truth to the claims, she would have returned home to join its defense instead of wasting her days meandering about Lindblum's many taverns...

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Following a lengthy discussion regarding Andrew's apparent precognition, Zidane and eventually Freya agreed to accompany him and Garnet to the Outer Continent to eliminate the mist at its source. Alexandria's fleet was virtually unapproachable from its current position, so their best option for curbing Brahne's ambition was eliminating the energy source of the Black Mages and her teleporters. They could also launch a full-scale invasion of Alexandria, but Brahne's army had already captured South Gate, meaning they would need to reclaim it before Lindblum's airships and army could pass through.

Fortunately for Cid, once again proving his precognitive abilities, Andrew had a solution that allowed them to circumvent the South Gate and enter Alexandria discreetly. This was, of course, the ancient underground tunnel system linking Lindblum, Alexandria, and Treno, known among Players as Gargan Roo. It would take some time to mobilize, but since the tunnels hadn't been in use for centuries, they could theoretically sneak an entire battalion of troops into Alexandria before they knew what was happening, assailing the castle from within.

While Garnet wasn't particularly fond of the idea of Lindblum's soldiers invading and occupying her home, she understood it was the best way to bring a swift end to the war. Thus, before leaving for the Outer Continent, she, Andrew, Zidane, and Freya would be leading the assault to legitimize the occupation and hopefully talk down anyone who wanted to resist. She was, after all, the future Queen...

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"Are you sure about this...?" asked Andrew, his voice and fingers shaking as he swallowed the knot forming in his throat.

"It's fine..." replied Garnet, her voice barely a whisper. Her body tensed when Andrew loosened the cords keeping her bodysuit snug around her waist, but she made no effort to stop him even when he carefully peeled the straps from her shoulders, exposing the bare flesh underneath.

"I think...I think we should stop here..." whispered Andrew. Unfortunately, though he frankly didn't mind, Garnet's response was to grab her hair and move it around to the front of her body, exposing her nape as she stated, "Proceed..." in a faint but authoritative tone.

Swallowing a second time, Andrew began to peel Garnet's bodysuit away with slow and deliberate movements. Things weren't that bad early on, as she had on a white, bell-sleeved blouse that extended past her navel, but he became lightheaded as he moved lower, pulling the orange fabric past her hips to expose her perky, perfectly sculpted bottom. The leotard-like garment had soft napped fabric lining the interior that prevented chafing, but it also hid the fact that Garnet was walking around commando...

Though he did his best not to gawk, Andrew was unable to suppress the temptation of sneaking a peak, not just at Garnet's backside but at what lay beyond, a smooth, untouched mound of pale white flesh. Fortunately, Garnet either didn't notice or didn't care that he had momentarily paused, waiting until he had pulled the fabric to her calves before stepping out of it of her own accord. Then, without a word, she raised her arms, making it clear she expected him to remove her blouse next...

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