Natasha the Halve

I am not obligated to deal with this woman, I concluded. Understanding does not translate to tolerance. I let out a polite chuckle and turned to Alastor, “Anyway. Where's the King?”

Lapia exhaled through her nose next to me.

The man took a second to make a decision, then nodded, “His Highness Prince Rinald is this way.”

“Hpmh!” the Princess harrumphed and took a step forward, “Have you-”

“Nice,” I interrupted her, giving the Minister a look. “Please lead the way.”

He turned around and walked past the Princess to the staircase.

Me and Lapia followed, and soon the Princess was behind us as well.

Fortunately for everyone involved, the woman didn't say a word while we walked through the palace.

We reached the end of the stairs and then went up another. After going up three stories, Alastor walked into a hallway that lead deeper into the palace.

The walls had quite the number of paintings hanging on them, depicting various Tigeas through the years. Most were Rulers and important people. A few individuals had outstanding achievements written in small plaques. I found the person who gave the Alchemists government office. He had a smaller painting, a male Egys Tigea wearing a silk suit with a gentle smile was depicted on the canvas. He looked pretty handsome in my opinion.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, we reached a set of double doors. Two Royal Guards were posted at each side.

Alastor knocked twice and waited.

“Come in,” came a suave male voice.

My eyebrows went up at the pleasant sound.

The Minister opened the door and stepped aside.

A cozy office welcomed us. Shelves lined the walls, full of books, scrolls, and other written media. A chandelier hang pretty low, and a few paintings decorated the opposite wall.

A dandy male Tigea sat behind a desk, reading some documents. His snow-white hair and brown skin were similar to the Princess, but his eyes were worlds apart from her. The left one was amber while the right one was turquoise.

[Dharji Tigea, Lvl 178 Actuary]

What the fuck is that class? I wondered.

“Has Her Excellency arrived, dear sister?” he asked aloud while turning the page he was reading.

“Ahem,” Alastor cleared his throat. “Your Highness, Her Excellency has arrived.”

The man behind the desk looked up and his eyes widened, “Oh!” he exclaimed and stood up, then straightened his clothes. He cleared his throat and gave me a charming smile, “Good morning, Your Excellency Natasha. It's an honor to finally meet you,” he greeted me in Common.

“Nice to meet you,” I smiled and greeted him in Kator. “Did I arrive too early?”

He blushed and cleared his throat again, “Apologies, Your Excellency. I didn't expect you to come this early,” he replied in Kator. His eyes met my own and he noticed the Elf next to me. “Ah, Lady Lapia. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been incredibly interested in regards to your research and your time teaching His Excellency Desseyr.”

Lapia bowed, “Your Highness Prince Rinald. Thank you for the kind words.”

The man chuckled, “Not at all, not at all,” his eyes met the Princess and he froze for a second. “I see you've met my dear sister.”

I nodded, “Yeah.”

“Hahaha,” the Prince let out an amused laugh. It sounded pretty nice and normal instead of the haughty laugh I expected a Prince to have. “Your Excellency reminds me of His Excellency Perculis.”

Agnes scoffed.

I let out a short sigh, “Can you just call me by my name?”

Rinald nodded, “If that's what you'd prefer.” He gestured to the other side of his desk and gave us a smile, “But first, please take a seat.”

We walked inside and the Prince produced a pair of chairs for us.

Nicer than Dabrak, I thought while sitting down.

The Princess and the Minister remained standing, however.

Rinald took a deep breath and gave me a tired smile, “Thank you very much for answering my plea, Lady Natasha. My Royal Father's health has worsened the last few weeks. He's lost energy and appetite, and nightmares plague him in his rest. We've summoned the best Clerics Lumin Kingdom has to offer and yet non have managed to improve my Royal Father's situation.”

I nodded, “I see. Have you considered this to be a mental health issue?”

Agnes scoffed again.

Rinald gave me a tight smile, “We have. It was our first approach. His attitude towards work doesn't help in the slightest, however. He's grown aggressive, even.”

What could be wrong with him, then?

I wondered, rubbing my chin. Something that Clerics, meaning magic, can't fix. Depression? That could be fixed with regulating neurotransmitters and stuff. Anxiety? Same. I remember Alyssa prevented me from having a panic attack when I realized the size of the world. Brain chemistry is well within a Cleric's power to manipulate.

I decided to see the man himself, “It'd be better if I met him,” I offered, looking at the man in front of me.

He gave me a smile, then looked down at the table between us, “Yes, I think so too.”

Agnes spoke up, “How is that going to help? You are the youngest individual that has entered the palace. What can you do that others haven't tried? We even used the legendary Dew of Life left by His Excellency Miraztor. I mean no disrespect, but what can a Warrior do to help?”

I stood up and turned to the woman, then gave her my most gentle smile, “Fuck off, alright?”

Lapia whipped her head to me with shock on her face.

Alastor choked.

Rinald failed to hold a laugh back, resulting in a snort.

Agnes's eyes widened and she opened her mouth, “Wha-?”

“No,” I interrupted her, lifting a hand a closing my fingers. “This is not a dialogue. We're not having a discussion. I did not ask you a question that requires more than yes or no. I get that you might be angry at the world right now. You need to vent, and that's alright. I'm not the one you have to be angry at, though.”

“Your-” she tried speaking again. Her face was blushing harder by the second.

“No, no, no,” I interrupted again, shaking my head. I gestured around the room, “This isn't about you. So you either get on with it, or get our of the fucking way. We don't need your negativity. We,” I pointed at each of us, “are trying to help your dad. To get him better. It's fine to have doubts, Agnes. It's healthy to criticize. Just,” I shrugged, “don't be a bitch about it.”

Right then, the door opened and a female Tigea walked into the room.

She wore a similar dress to Agnes' but more intricate in design, and a beautifully crafted crown sat on top of her head.

Alastor bowed and announced, “Her Majesty the Queen, Josalia Hyth Lumin!”

Agnes bowed.

Rinald bowed.

Lapia bowed.

I didn't.

The Queen looked at me with a gentle smile which made her turquoise eyes squint a little, then gave me a respectful nod, “Your Excellency Natasha, it's an honor to meet you. Have you finished scolding my daughter?”

I returned the nod, “Nice to meet you, Queen. And no, I haven't.”

The Queen's eyes widened in surprise but the smile didn't leave her face.

I turned back to the Princess and sighed, “Look, I'm not a savior or a holy being that demands the utmost respect.” I walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It's scary to have a loved one in an uncertain situation. I don't need to be fucking ancient to understand that. I'm not mad at you for expressing your feelings in however way you chose to do so... but don't come to me with that childish attitude. You're not helping anyone. So, yeah. Fuck off.”

The Queen nodded a few times.

Lapia shook her head with a sigh.

“So,” I turned to Rinald. “We were going to see the King?”

He nodded and cleared his throat, “Yes, we were.” He looked at the Queen and smiled, “Royal Mother, would you like to accompany us?”

She raised an eyebrow and turned to me, “If Her Excellency permits it.”

I sighed, “This is your palace and he's your husband, woman. Do as you please.”

Lapia took a deep breath and raised her eyebrows.

Rinald made his way to the door and gave Agnes a tight smile, “Are you coming with us, dear sister?”

She was pouting. After a second of silence she nodded.

Spoiled much? I shook my head and went out of the room.

The group of people was something I found pretty funny. Me, a Halve, protector of the world. The Queen of a nation and her two Royal Children. The Minister of High Relations. And my girlfriend, who was of Noble birth.

I see why the rest chose not to come, I chuckled. Still, a family seeking help to heal the dad is pretty wholesome, weird attitudes included.

We moved through the palace followed by some ten Royal Guards. They were all beneath level 310 for the visible class, so below 1000 total. Still, they were the most 'powerful' group of armed people I had seen so far. It made sense since they were tasked to protect an important family of Merchants.

Lapia walked next to me, and her face betrayed the stress she was under.

Maybe behaving like that wasn't the smartest of choices, I pondered for a second, but then didn't give a damn about it. Royalty are not Gods in the end. Their value is strictly tied to the happiness of the people in my eyes.

I noticed the Queen stole a few glances my way, smiling and nodding to herself.

Once we made it to another set of double doors, though much grander and decorated, Rinald stopped to knock.

“Come in,” a deep voice replied from inside.

The Prince opened the doors and my eyes widened at the amount of people inside.

Four Tigeas, Two Elves, and a Human were standing around a bed, all wearing Danuva's Church robes. Most were silent, reading something while others were checking on a man sitting on the bed.

The man himself, however, looked like shit. He looked like a cat with ringworm. Bald patches covered his visible body with gashes and bruises. His eyes were tired with large, dark eyebags beneath them.

The Cleric next to him whispered something and the man nodded. A whitish light came off the healer's hands and the man's injuries healed at a visible rate until he was in top shape. His snow-white hair and turquoise eyes shone with youthful energy.

So it's chronic? I wondered. If the symptoms could be healed that easily I wouldn't be needed.

“Her Excellency Natasha Novak has arrived, Royal Father,” Rinald announced, taking a slow step into the room.

Another man wearing similar clothes to the Prince, a Shishi Tigea, walked in front of Rinald and gave him a smile, “Thank you, dear brother.”

Rinald nodded and stepped aside.

Everyone went in and I followed after them.

The Royal Guard closed the door behind me.

I walked inside and stopped next to the bed, then stared at the King.

[Dharji Tigea, Lvl 255 King – Financial Manager]

The rule of the merchant, indeed.

Alastor stood behind me and announced in a low voice, “His Majesty the King, Gordon Igne Lumin IV.”

The man in question looked at me and tried smiling. “Welcome to the world, Natasha.” His eyes showed fear. The uncertainty of facing a chronic illness was reflected on his face.

In front of me, I saw more than a King. While I think every man is a King in their own right, I saw a Father.

The memory of my own dad having a similar face when my mom abandoned us appeared on my mind's eye. The pain and fear behind a man's eyes when the world crumbles around them was quite similar between the two. Though raised in different worlds with different social values, the fear of uncertainty was shared.

One of the memories that defined my life and how I view the world was replaying and yet I felt nothing.

Is apathy the answer? I wondered, searching my storage for another flask of the pink elixir that muted my emotions after killing the bandits.

“Thank you, Gordon,” I gave him an honest smile. “You look like shit.”

He chuckled and closed his eyes. His laughter increased in volume until he started coughing.

Everyone in the room was silent.

Lapia was next to me, looking at the man on the bed.

The King sighed, “It's always refreshing to meet a Halve. You're totally different from Perculis and Miraztor, Natasha.”

“Thank you, I guess?” I chuckled and looked behind me for a chair.

I found one and brought it to the side of the bed, then sat down.

“So,” I began, trying to brighten the mood of the room. “What's up with the tax?”