6: Family Figures For A Teen
After having food with Hestia I escorted Ais to the Twilight Manor. Didn't need to, but the teen wanted to spend more time together, so we traveled mostly in silence together. Some Adventurers gave us looks, but didn't act given Ais's level and me being an unknown mostly. Arriving at the base of the Loki family, the heiress to the Elven kingdom stood at the base of the steps. Upon seeing Ais, the taciturn Elf started walking over to us, slowly recognizing who she was with. Tipping my head, I got off Zuno and held out my right hand to the Elf.
Her steps slowly came to a crawl as she stood before us, her hand stretching out ever so slightly. Before taking my hand as hers shook as if it were being burnt and flayed to the bone. However, once her hand was in mine, that all stopped as she sighed before speaking very gently.
"So you're real…"
"Yes I am."
"Welcome back, Grave Walker…. We've missed you."
"Good to be back Riveria, how's raising Ais to be a proper girl been treating you?"
"Insufferable… although you look older now, more grounded. You have two pets as well..."
Chuckling, I held her hand with a squeeze, causing her to sigh with a small smile.
"Well I helped Zeus, and a certain woman raise their nephew and grandson as they sucked. Plus, if I had stayed, I'd have snapped and that'd hurt our stunted child who likes being strong. So living in the country for fourteen years did me some good. Also, I'd hope so because I was seventeen when I left Orario. Though I'm over a thousand years old. So, it'd be weird if I didn't finally age after being unfrozen in time."
The straight as an arrow with a stick up her ass, Elven Princess chuckled softly. Several people had stopped to see us holding hands and acting so familiar together, with Ais beside us smiling softly. Many were undoubtedly surprised and walked into things or others, some Elves seeing Riveria just calm and smiling had contented looks. Except for those racist pure-blood elites, they looked like murder targets. Riveria gave me a look when I thought that, not a don't do it one, but one saying I can't be bothered if they fuck up.
"Nn perfect."
"The child has spoken, though late."
"Haa… never thought I'd have an adoptive Human and Gale Spirit daughter or a…. Male that I'm fine with touching me. Alf wouldn't be happy with these events, yet I can't help but not care much… as I'm happy with this."
"Which I wonder why you allow me to touch ya. Thought us non-elves were lowly?"
Riveria glared at me but when someone screamed, "You are!" Her head snapped in that direction like an own locking onto prey, and Ais had to jab a forming magic circle to stop it from well forming. As Riveria would've frozen a lot of stuff just to get the yeller. Seeing the one who yelled high tailing it, I did Riveria a favor. Pulling a M9 pistol typically used by law enforcement from a belt holster, my aim snapped onto the Elf. My eyes glowing faintly as strands of the Archaean infection inside me overlaid on my eyes. The infection had, however, sped up my reactions and tracking speed.
Sighting in the Elf's rear, I pulled the trigger before holstering the gun just as quickly. A pained cry sounded as the yeller jumped and then fell as a bullet hole marked their ass. Have fun sitting with a bullet in your ass, ya racist. Riveria huffed, Ais clapped, Pandora chirped a laugh, and Zuno just watched impassively with a snort. The bystanders gladly laughed and pointed, though at the Elf who got shot in the ass. Seeing that I had helped air some grievances, Riveria let my hand go and shook her head.
"I let you touch me as you see me for more than my value as a person. You are damaged, but you don't care for superficial titles or notions such as me being the next Queen of Alf. You just see me as Riveria, a friend and a fellow troubled parental figure for Ais. For most, that's what I desire, but not from you or those close to me. Though you're the only one who freely touches me given our relationship."
"Pff of course I touch ya like I do, we're essentially together because we have to raise that thing. I mean look at her, she'd follow someone if they offered her cookies."
I gestured to Ais, who blinked, processing my words before protesting. In a flat, slightly emotional monotone voice as she pointed at me.
"I would not follow just anyone for cookies… maybe?"
Riveria looked at Ais, exasperated, as I just gestured at her.
"See, she's our problem child who needs your supervision and my… whatever I offer."
"You give her a lot of normalcy of a father figure, and guide her fairly in matters when she needs it."
Hearing Riveria I looked at her, then Ais, then Pandora as if to confirm this. The Thunder Phoenix nods her head, thrilling slightly as if to affirm such things. I guess my friends always did say I just had "Dad Energy" since for forty years, new and old ones liked dadding me. Just because I'd act as if they were troublesome or troubled kids needing a bit of support and disappointment. If Remo was anything to go by as they said, my disappointed stare or tone hurt more than when they'd throw a fit about something.
Shrugging, I gave Ais a side hug, making the blonde teen blink before, in her own way, preening. Letting her go, I smirked lazily at Riveria and gave the Elf a bear hug, lightly biting an ear before quickly booking it with a cackle as she stuttered. Pandora, who was thrown from my shoulder, flew after me, with Zuno barking a laugh as he followed.
"YOU IMPUDENT GUNSLINGER! GET BACK HERE AND LET ME HIT YOU! DAKOTA!"
She screamed at me, but I didn't hear her move an inch from her spot. I glanced back to see the Elven woman blushing with a trembling smile as she watched me and my monsters disappear into the crowd. After a while the three of us ended up at the guild where I met Gialia and reported on my quest. Taking a look at some others as well outside the walls as those admittedly get abandoned.
Simply because "they're not good enough compared to the dungeon." Pulling up the exosuit tab on my SHD watch, I looked at my balance and bought five frames, before tabbing over to Arcane Arms and buying five general soldier combos of just a Colt 1911 and M14A1 together. Tapping a village's request for help killing a suspected Goblin nest, and a scouting one for the same village, my bubbly advisor smiled. As I let her watch me, buy what I did, and she caught onto what I was doing as the five exosuites materialized with their weapons.
My Archaean infection bubbling under my duster as I spawned five drones that filled in and hooked into the suites. I swallowed the blood buildup in my mouth, as I just used literal chunks of my insides to do so. I eyed my five servants as they became more defined and looked like fully covered black ops units, with one racking its side arm and checking it. They had predetermined personalities and skills from my own experiences or from those I've consumed for information. Gialia cheerfully gave the requests to the most defined Archaean of the five.
They looked over the paperwork and fed the information through the hivemind-like network between Archaean creatures to its team. Before fucking the papers into a "chest pouch" and speaking softly to Gialia's surprise.
"Central has given a command…. We shall see these done for your Humanity."
Promptly leaving afterward with the rest of the four following them. It'd be weird if they couldn't speak, so the lead one has limited capability to do so. Watching them go my advisor asked me something while placing a health potion on the counter without a word to me about it. Ah, the powers of a mother, knowing when someone is in pain because kids like to hide things.
"So that's your Arch, will they get the quests done?"
Uncorking the potion, I took a swig of it, downing it all in one motion as the heat of the effect kicked in quickly. Setting the empty vial down, I let the potion do its work as I felt my insides regrowing and mending the empty cavities where the five had come from.
"The village is a day away, they'll make it, they'll also finish things up quickly as they have EVERYTHING they'll need. Information, experiences, adaptability, and themselves. Thanks, by the way."
"I don't know what you're thanking me for, I did nothing of note, Dakota. Plus the Sword Princess somehow guessed I was your advisor and well it tickles my heart to see someone try that hard to ask for something. So don't worry~ just don't make her sad, since that girl really cares for you as family."
"I'm too old for this shit… Roger dodger. Well, I need to go look for a place to claim, so people can actually know where to expect me."