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Chapter 5: Pride and Truth

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

When my body started to wake up, the first thing that hit my brain was the unpleasant soreness well-spread all over my entire self.

I wasn't hurting too badly, but the minuscule degree of pain was enough to keep me from remembering things as fast as I normally wanted.

Why was everything hurting like hell?

I remembered some punches, several kicks, a troublesome headbutt, and a final smile before I collapsed.

My memories started to flesh out the more I calmly contemplated what got me in this circumstance.

I could remember some blurry scenes during that draining fight, then me trying my best to win over my opponent to my cause, and ultimately managing to do so while getting beaten up in the process.

To be fair, I wasn't the one that lost that fight.

I refused to address that battle as such, as I was quite sure it was a proper draw. We both fell unconscious, and we both were deemed unable to keep on fighting.

But while I was half-expecting for my former opponent to rebuke this affirmation, I knew that my current concern had to be directed elsewhere.

Specifically, where was I at the moment.

Blinking slowly, my sight was greeted by the bright light coming from the ceiling. The bed was comfy, and the pillows beneath my head were quite soft… but both were unfamiliar to me as I slowly realized that this wasn't my room.

I blinked once again, this time trying to adapt my eyes to the light washing over me and… I was ultimately granted sight over the medical bay.

And I wasn't the only one there.

I took notice of Addie almost instantly, but while I was tempted to smile and give a quick 'good morning' despite not knowing what time it was, I stopped as soon as I realized that she wasn't too happy right now.

The young woman was watching over me as she continued to sit on a chair close to my bed.

Her green eyes bore over me, a mix of relief and irritation within her orbs creating an odd combo that got me incredibly nervous.

It didn't help that she was holding a baton in her hands as she seemed to be waiting for something. And I was quite sure that one of the possible routes for this unexpected predicament was a furious assault towards me.

“Addie-"

“You're an utter moron," The young Queen pointed out dryly, her irritation clear in her voice. “And I'm currently debating if I should greet you with a beating or not."

I tensed up at the sudden threat of violence, my eyes widening in surprise at that 'good morning'. I guess I did something to warrant this much hostility.

She might get hot headed from time to time, but this was perhaps at first at this degree of annoyance from her part.

“What?"

She sighed, almost incensed by my lack of recollection of anything that could've led to this very strange conversation.

“Do you recall what happened a few hours ago?"

The question got me to blink twice before I found enough bravery to see what got her this much aggravated.

“Yes?"

“Then please, explain to me why you thought that recruiting someone clearly stronger than you in the middle of a fight against them isn't something I shouldn't label as the most stupid and inane thing you could've tried to accomplish?"

…

She had a point there, and I kept quiet for some time. I would've spent more of that silence to try and come up with a decent explanation, but the way her hold was tightening over the baton convinced me to start talking.

Anything at this point was good if it meant not getting assaulted. My body couldn't allow it, and so wouldn't the little pride I had in being a good diplomat.

“Can I say that the heat of the moment, and the fact I was losing that fight saw me push for that move?"

My attempt seemed to work despite my own uncertainty over the chances of failing with that weak response. Addie's posture eased up at the semi-query, but her eyes were still narrowed at me with the utmost irritated look.

“Oh, but I can understand that," The Coyote Prime said while nodding, genuinely agreeing to this counter. “I know that you did something incredible by bringing the Crest of Fire to our camp, and while I know that it will take us time to conquer her loyalty, I'm quite optimistic about it."

There was a brief pause, and I continued to silently stare at her as I knew that this wasn't exactly the main bit of the issue.

“But what I really find it bewildering is that even though you managed to beat her by using Light Magic, you still found it important enough to abandon yourself in a bare-handed brawl as if you were a mindless idiot that just craved for the battle," The young woman continued, her tone turning stern once again. “And the thing that truly appalls me is that I know this wasn't something normal from you and… I might know why you indulged in that melee."

Frowning, I tilted my head to the side at the last bit.

“What?"

I was surprised that she thought that my decision was dictated by something other than my brain. I wasn't generally the one that let go of any inhibition to just join a bare-handed close-encounter fight.

“I was surprised when you first used Light Magic to boost yourself," The Coyote Prime started to say. “Sure, it was mostly done to lessen the stress you were perceiving, but from what I remember from previous conversations had on the matter, you told me that humans can't use magic."

“I'm fairly sure no human can make use of magic back home," I agreed calmly. “Actually how did I do that if-"

“Archie checked on any abnormality that could explain this, and he mentioned that you had a full-developed core with a decent affinity with all elements of order," Addie explained. “Looking at this matter even more, I came to the conclusion that your body was affected by the spell that summoned you. Something that cemented your role as my knight."

That did answer some of the questions I had over the strange topic. So it wasn't the sword that gave me this advantage, but the spell that brought me here altered my body to properly accommodate magic.

…

“But how did I make use of Light Magic?" I inquired. “I mean, I've never seen it used before and-"

“I think I am to fault about it," The Queen interjected with a minor hint of nervousness. “It's… do you remember when I held your hand during the blockade, back when we were sitting by the cockpit?"

“I can't exactly forget that now, can I?" I replied sarcastically, getting a tiny snort and a soft punch on the shoulder. “But how does hand-holding make you responsible for this development?"

…

“I can use Light Magic," The girl answered with a nod, her palms releasing the baton and arching in front of her as a small white sphere formed between her hands. “I don't know much about it, especially with no one but mother being able to teach me about it. So… yeah, I tried to use my magic to… calm you a little bit."

Light Magic can do that? Calm people?

I was a little confused how the elements genuinely worked. Sure, I wasn't expecting for Light to just be able to produce annoying and harmless beams of light that could work only on creatures of darkness, but I really was curious to learn its limitations and best uses.

It was an advantage, and considering how tough fights were going to be from now on, I knew I had to exploit all chances I got to become strong enough to stave off any attack on us.

Now that Carmesi was on our team, I knew that our chances of success had increased immensely and-

“Wait, how does this correlate to how I behaved at the end of that fight?"

Green eyes blinked in realization that we had indeed wasted too much time in that digression, and she nodded as she prepared to explain.

“Just like you managed to gain an 'understanding' of Light Magic, you ended up undergoing a similar phenomenon with Fire Magic while fighting Carmesi," Addie replied with a sigh. “Some elements can end up influencing the user's emotional state, and Fire is known to bring out passion and desire. In this case, it was the need to keep on fighting until you both were unable to continue."

Is this true? Then I will have to pay close attention when I start training with it and other elements that condition my mood in any sort of way.

But the explanation given finally opened up a whole world. I wasn't sure how to digest this new piece of information just yet.

So, instead of pondering further now that my mind wasn't quite capable of formulating complicated thoughts, I decided to switch the topic to another query of mine I wanted to really ask.

“This is… something I will have to think more about later on. I guess we can train on that once my body has properly recovered," I said, waiting for her to nod in agreement before continuing. “Still, I don't see our newest crew member in here. I guess she's already up."

The mere mention of the Fox Prime got a frown out of Adela. The Coyote Prime gritted her teeth in a minor grimace and then sighed in clear frustration.

“She is currently adjusting her own room," The Queen answered quietly. “Let's just say that she was 'impressed' by how big it was, but lamented the fact it lacked training gear."

“I guess she is taking some from the Gym Room."

I could see someone like the Fox Prime going through that… but then again I was still unsure of the kind of individual we just recruited.

Driven by pride and her interest in fighting the strongest possible while also improving herself, Carmesi was still an enigma that I had just started to unravel thanks to that strange 'bonding' session.

I wasn't sure how realistically speaking a brawl of that magnitude could genuinely create a friendship out of hostilities.

The girl nodded. “She paused for a while when we entered inside. She didn't say much about it, but I can tell she was enjoying the idea that she had access to this facility… I think mother once said that the Empire doesn't invest much in training rooms."

I noticed a little flinch as she brought up her deceased parent and I sighed.

“Addie-"

“I know, I still can't… get control over that, but I'm working on it and-"

She paused as I pressed my finger on her nose.

“You don't have to justify yourself about it. Not to me," I rebuked softly, my finger moving as my whole hand cupped her cheek. “If you need to talk to it… do ask."

The young woman nodded, and with a smile on my face, I retreated my hand before I opened my arms to her. Her eyes widened for a brief moment of pure stillness, but she happily accepted the offer and dived for a hug.

Addie was careful enough to not press herself too much on my still-tired body, but her arms squeezed tight and close and so did mine.

She hummed with a pleased tune, while I merely sighed as I enjoyed the relative warmth and comfort coming from that good embrace.

I was so distracted that I barely noticed that someone was hovering above us. A giggle made me frown as I slowly looked up and… was greeted with a smiling Archie.

“Hello boss!"

I almost jumped, making the Coyote Prime tense up in my hold before she noticed what had frightened me so suddenly. Her tiny smile widened, and her lips twitched before she pressed her face on my chest and started to laugh.

“I guess the ship has been landed at the planet I've chosen," Adela muttered, getting a nod from the Nanozell spirit before the little guy settled on my lap.

“We've stopped?"

“Just to wait for you to recover and… help me elaborate on some proper plans," The young woman explained. “Archie here managed to download the maps within Carmesi's old ship before we left them."

I frowned. “Couldn't they just chase us and-"

“They tried to board us, some of them at least," Archie interjected before nodding. “I started the engines and sent an electric pulse into their ship. That disabled most of their secondary systems like their boarding gears, their detection system, and their propellers were temporarily disabled too."

“That sounds like a lot of work. I don't think we ever got the chance to say that you did a brilliant job as the pilot," I praised with a nod, the spirit looking fairly sheepish and unsure how to pick the compliment.

“It's alright, boss. I'm just doing my job-"

“And you're doing it excellently," Adela decided to add with a tiny giggle, her hand reaching for his head and giving it a pat. “You shouldn't be afraid to accept due praise for your work."

The usually white face of the spirit turned a bright red at the mirthfully embarrassing situation.

All in all, this turned out to be quite the interesting wake up for me.

_ But still, the night was long and someone was feeling rather restless. _

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I gulped nervously as I tried to go beyond fifty push-ups. The exercise was usually 'easier' for me to go through in a normal situation, but with my body still recovering from that all-out brawl, I couldn't exactly go through with yesterday's schedule.

Which is why Adela saw it fit to lessen up the amount of exercises I was allowed to go for today. I needed to train, but I didn't need to over-exert myself about it.

Time was still on our side and now we had a clear sight over our mission.

With Carmesi joining us, we had one of the twelve Crests away from the Empire's clutches… but the data acquired by Archie left a jarring discovery about the matter.

Excluding the Fox Prime from the count, there were two more Crests that were under the control of the Emperor.

The first one was someone that our newest crew member knew and despised.

General Minos was one of the most devoted and loyal officers of the Empire. He was regarded as a model to follow by those Primes that submitted and joined the Emperor's cause, and not just because of his grandstanding.

He was the Crest of Earth, having been educated and trained ever since its homeland's destruction by the Emperor himself.

At first it was a shocking surprise to digest, but Adela did confirm that Crests didn't have an expiration date.

They were immortals, but not invincible.

They could die in battle, but they were untouched by sickness and mortality.

Minos was centuries old, his mind deeply entrenched in the ideals of the Empire and what his liege's strives for and… that made him someone I really didn't wish to approach.

Strong, well-guarded, and he was too deep within the Empire to ever consider betraying their banner.

That and Carmesi had mentioned more than once a deep hatred for the 'prim and proper jerk', with the guy having been responsible for many issues to the Fox Prime's ascension to the Empire's ranks.

When she accepted my proposal of switching over, her reasoning wasn't just tied to the unpleasant condition she was forced to live by each day because it was standard for the Empire's grunts.

Despite her attempts to limit her pride in messing things up for her, this General seemed to not be in the mood to grant any reprieve after a 'bad first impression'. That very sentence stuck out, but I didn't press her for more as she continued to explain what she knew of the dangerous enemy and… about our second option.

Nobody that was less than a Lieutenant-General knew of the identity of the second Crest.

Rumors were still something that ran rampant about the identity and the element they were assigned to, but none among the various 'nosy' officers that tried to dig deep to find some clues about the situation had ever managed to unravel even one of the two questions.

Despite that lack of info over the Crest in question, some of the trails had left many to suspect that whoever was the individual, they had to have a part in the chemical that was used to torture prisoners.

While the Empire had a strict jail system that allowed just a handful of people to 'mercifully continue to live in prisons', the worst part of that predicament was the way those that opposed the Empire's agenda were tortured and forced to confess to their crimes.

And even though I expected for the torture to be mostly physical and painful, the truth proved to be far more confusing and suspicious.

The 'Agápi' was considered one of the most effective and most feared compounds ever used by the Empire.

It was capable of eroding a prisoner's resistance to questions in a couple of minutes, and allowing specialized interrogators to get quick answers out of the subject before the effects of the chemical run out.

A truth serum that was as effective as harmless to be used frequently or in large quantities to increase the timing of the effects.

I could only shudder at the possibility of being subjected to that kind of substance, having no intentions to be ever captured by the Empire now more than ever.

Still, this curious chemical was also the center of numerous queries from various members of the military.

Where did it come from? How did the scientist manufacture it so that it could be used so easily and in large quantities?

But it was Carmesi that brought out a supposition that was seen by many as the possible truth.

The second Crest was one way or another involved with the 'Agápi' serum, and that meant that if we found the principal development workplace that was tasked with its production, we were possibly going to find where the elusive Crest was.

For now the options were too many to be considered, and a proper brainstorming session was set to happen just the morning of the next day, when we were all rested and ready to dig as deeply as we could about the topic thanks to the stolen database Archie got for us.

Which is why, much to Carmesi's growing amusement, I decided to keep my mind clear by trying my best by training together with the girls.

The Fox Prime seemed to have just finished with her schedule, and she looked particularly tired while she stared at me groaning and huffing through the strenuous training.

“What's wrong? Having some trouble with some 'push-ups'?"

I gritted my teeth at the gloating. Now I remember why I couldn't help but call her names in my mind.

Despite the craving to rebuke her smugness, I knew that antagonizing her would give me nothing more than just troubles with Carmesi.

So I kept quiet, and I went on through my session without paying much attention at the annoying comments coming from my left.

Slow and steady wins the race… but damn, I'm regretting the fact I did ask Addie to give me something to do.

Speaking of the Queen, the Coyote Prime was focusing intensely on her own training. Ever since I pointed out to her that she needed to improve her bare-handed performance.

Sternly and mostly determined, there was indeed some initial step to the right direction. Improvement was far from being attained, but I knew that Adela had it in her to actually get through this very issue.

But while I found reason to push further by staring at the young woman's drive with her own training, I ended up noticing that I wasn't the only one that took notice of this situation.

Light-blue eyes stared silently at the fierce stubbornness displayed by the young woman, eliciting a degree of interest and desire from within the Fox Prime. A desire to challenge and beat this 'temporary rival' by doing more and better than she was.

Petty rivalry was mostly left to children, but I knew of people that just couldn't let go of this notion. Carmesi would soon prove to me that she was part of the latter group as she started to copy the same exercises Adela was going through.

At first I didn't give it much attention. It was still positive training, and nobody was insulting or hurting anyone.

Minutes passed smoothly and uneventfully, and I happily sat down as I finished with my workload for today. But while I stopped to look at the ceiling for a moment, allowing for my body to get accustomed back to the calm situation, I slowly lowered my gaze back to Carmesi and… frowned at what I ended up looking at.

She was still training despite the fact she looked genuinely winded. Gritting her teeth, the young woman was throwing precise kicks at a soft target, and her attacks were mostly flawless.

'Mostly' being a curious keyword considering that the problem wasn't that she was missing something about the exercise Adela was doing clearly better.

No, the issue was that with each kick, the Fox Prime was forced to pause and hide away the flinches appearing on her visage.

A confused look replaced my frown, and with confusion came worry.

Silently standing up and walking by the entrance of the room, I went to retrieve a first aid kit as I knew that Carmesi had lied about her current state.

While she was faring better than I was, the way she recoiled from her own attacks was a clear sign that she wasn't completely healed from our previous brawl.

Once I was back at the bench where the girl had left her water bottles and towels, I took a seat by the empty space in there and called for her.

“Carmesi, can you please come here for a moment?"

Tensing up and stopping before delivering her umpteenth kick, the Fox Prime turned to face me with a quizzical and slightly annoyed look.

I rebuked her irritation with a serious look, but I didn't say anything about why I was asking for her presence.

Addie looked back at me with a curious look, but I gestured to her that it wasn't something that required her assistance.

With fascination overwhelming her frustration at being interrupted, and perhaps the pain she was feeling through that forced training urging her stop, Carmesi decided to approach me and take a seat beside me.

Trying to appear fine and mostly 'unscathed' by the intense session, the young woman merely looked down at the first aid kit in my lap with a confused look.

“Oh? Are you hurt?" The Prime asked teasingly. “Do you need someone to kiss the pain away?"

“I might have to do that, but first I need to check on your legs."

…

“What?" She muttered blankly and I sighed.

“I saw you flinching each time you threw a kick," I remarked with a dry tone. “You may fool Addie and Archie, but I don't think you should lie about this to me."

“I'm fine and I didn't lie," She shot back, but I wasn't falling for it.

For a moment I thought about going through a lengthy conversation, which would heat up from time to time because of how stubborn we were… but then I realized that it wouldn't do much with Carmesi.

Too proud, too fiery… but also incredibly easy to fluster with the proper action.

Thus I smiled and shrugged. “Then can you indulge a request of mine about training?"

Her eyes narrowed at me, but I stood up from the bench before she had the chance of saying anything.

“I want to try a more advanced version of what you were doing," I explained with a grin. “You throw kicks at me, and I have to block those."

…

“You're going to get hurt," The Fox Prime remarked and I snorted.

“Nah, I think you're the one that should worry about getting hurt," I countered. “In fact, I think this will cement my suspicions about you being still hurting on your legs."

“As if I need to prove you anything-"

“Then I guess I'm right," I interjected quickly. “I mean, it would just take a simple kick to prove the fact you're truthful. Nothing too difficult or too straining, just a mere kick."

…

“You're not letting me go about this."

“No, I'm not," I agreed before nodding.

A sigh left her lips and she stood up. “Don't cry for your mother when your arm starts hurting."

“If you're so sure, how about a wager?" I added giddily. “I get to call you a nickname if I'm right, and you get to do the same if you win."

Carmesi regarded the bet with a scowl, seemingly thinking whenever she should accept it or not.

Finally, she sighed, her eyes glinting a hint of interest about this new addition.

“I will call you Captain Moron when I win."

“It's 'if'."

“I'm not wrong, and there is no need to correct the truth to hide your predicted failure."

I found myself confused by her sudden change of mood, and her bravado caught me off-guard as I expected her to be more defensive about the matter.

It was a change that made me doubt a little bit that she was genuinely hurting. That I had seen things wrong and… then I realized that it was a ploy of hers.

It was simple for an arrogant prick to use their own arrogance to trick their opponents to make mistakes, and Carmesi was trying something like that on me.

Sadly, that wasn't going to work as I took a stance and she took hers.

“I hope you're ready," The Fox Prime warned and I shrugged.

“Always ready to be right."

Her scowl fitted beautifully on her face just as she prepared to throw a kick. But it wasn't just a kick, it was one way stronger than the ones she used to attack her previous target.

I almost chuckled at her last resort, knowing that the young woman hoped to break into my defense without showing how much hurt her legs were.

But I wasn't planning to back away, and I knew she was aware of that too.

Her left leg moved like blur, moving up and towards my head only to be stopped by my right arm. The result was a stinging sensation spreading all over my limb and almost making me flinch… while Carmesi yelped as the clash rebounded some of her momentum back on her leg.

Tripping down and clutching at her hurting leg, she groaned as she saw me pick up the kit and crouch down to treat her new bruises.

“I-I'm-"

“A moron, yes. I think I've learned about this today, Carmie."

She gritted her teeth, her attention mostly directed at the pain, but as soon as I started to apply the cooling cream onto the hurting zone, her mind picked up what I had just said.

“You- what did you call me?"

I smiled even more, enjoying the fact I just one-upped this pompous girl out of making a mistake by keeping on hurting her damaged legs. And because I just managed to get a nickname stuck on her because of her own unwillingness to accept the fact she was wrong.

“Your nickname is Carmie," I replied mirthfully, my eyes still fixed on her left leg as I started to treat it properly with some bandages and a careful massage. “I did win after all."

Her mouth opened and closed several times, but while her mind couldn't come up with a response, her eyes were keeping track of my action as I cautiously ended up treating both legs.

It was quick work, nothing much was done to forbid her to do other exercises that didn't see her legs strained and… she had this strange pout linger on her face for the reminder of the night.

Midnight struck and we were all gone for bed, with Carmesi accepting her newest nickname as soon as Addie was told about this development.

'Surprisingly' enough, the gloating seemed to lessen and… I could tell that something changed with Carmesi after that day.

_ She started smiling genuinely more often from that point onward. _