Augran

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Ludvig shrugged with his arms, smug and indignant after that successful dodge.
For his reward, a musket round lands straight into his shoulder. He glances at the wound, then at the musketeer far off the distance that took the shot.

He simply let out a 'tsk' as he pulled the musket ball out of his wound, sprinkling some blood onto the scaffold. Promptly with the same hand, he presented the musketeers with a bloody middle finger.

Doubt they have a moment to spare noticing it, what with Mirielle already upon them. Now there was someone that actually shone like the sun, and apparently radiated such flames as well. If there ever was a poster child for the Order of the Golden Sun, it was definitely her.

Wait, were the two other shots for her? But she seemed fine.
Even that too felt nostalgic, seeing someone other than himself charge in towards ranged attackers with little self-care. Although back then they just used bows.
Nary an idea when to pinpoint the exact decade humanity made that particular advancement in weapon technology.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"Oh, right... Catch."

Sobering from Mirielle's heavenly sight, his right hand flicked the bloodied musket ball at the lone soldier's head, aiming for an eye.

With that distraction, he spins again to attempt to disarm the poor bloke with a back heel kick straight to his wielding hand.
Then he dashes forward, trying to get around the soldier to apply a rear-naked choke while simultaneously 'healing'¹ him to drain his mana and inflict pain immense enough to make most of anyone pass out.

_{1『 Heavenly Dragon's Inverse Healing Palm 』}

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

_{Fifteen days ago...}

Ludvig felt significantly less bad about spending two silvers for coffee, after Carnatia's generous tip of what does amount to ten silvers.
Before that was a lengthy positive review, followed by more sentiments about splurging. It felt strangely nostalgic, seeing someone in nobility just gleefully part with coin.
Oh, how rare they ever do it.

Then came their replies to his question. Statements of their resolve, or some might rather view as justifications for their future misgivings. Sadly, Ludvig did not disagree with it. There exists lost causes that are simply permanent, unamendable. Best to lock them away from society, yet to him death still seemed too much for a prison.

He knew that thinking so was hypocrisy. He'd be lying to himself to think it wasn't.
He hoped to match their resolve with his. The first thought was to finally procure a weapon again.

After the little breakfast party, Ludvig was out and about, wandering around the city, observing the people. He would not be seen by the rest of the team for the ensuing twenty or so hours.

The morning after, before departure, a leather-sheathed steel dagger could be spotted along his left waist, and for the more discerning, a little rectangular shape filling the right breast pocket of Ludvig's pink polo.
One could tell he was a tad dismayed, seemingly about this new horse. But of course, it wasn't trained to trot like the previous one. A galloping horse, he muttered and sighed. He supposes reading a book during the ride was finally out of the question.

_{During the trip...}

The object in Ludvig's pocket reveals itself to be a polished silver, stainless steel harmonica, with which he would skillfully play some tunes with as they rode the days on horseback.

When he's not playing the harmonica, he resumed his habit of sleeping on the galloping horse during the day, and with the extra vigilance, he afforded extra sleep during the night as well... except for the nights when Amaris took watch, opting to stay up and try to chat with her. Meaningless topics like the moons and stars in the sky, and how beautiful she is as these celestial bodies reflected their lights about her.

A worry develops in the back of his mind that the extra sleep's gradually turning him into a deeper sleeper...

_{Present day...}

... as is proven by Ludvig still being asleep during the entire ruckus that is currently happening.
He jolted awake at the sound of Carnatia's voice pleading for Mirielle to stay her ground, and the wake of mana surrounding the two women.
Trouble. Five uniformed men and a sixth hanging by a rope.

With about zero hesitation and a hopefully adequate evaluation of this team's members, he unsheathes his dagger, leaps off his horse, grabs the biggest guy in the team -- that being the masked man in green named Sten Rezello Ashton-Fulsteel -- and teleports¹ both of them right beside the hanged peasant, slashing the rope while mid-air and letting the peasant fully drop to ground.

There they were, Rezello, Ludvig and the peasant, in the middle of two uniformed soldiers, one of them visibly more armoured.
Obviously Rezello would deal with the more armoured one, right? He could only hope.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"Greetings, mortals. Fine morning we have today.
So, are you loyalists or revolutionists? Doesn't matter, you're all the same anyway. Do y'all know of a Paladin by the name of Thomas?"

Provocation is such a fun prelude to any conflict. He gauged their reactions as he prodded with the important question, and swiftly came to a conclusion.
These people are hiding something. They need to be kept alive.

From this point on, a shield² of slimy, gooey nature, may pop up around Rezello or the peasant if they are unable to dodge an attack. Ludvig's confident he can dodge attacks without having to spend any mana to shield it, even from one of the muskets.

_{¹『 Jumpscare 』
²『 Prismatic Barrier 』}

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

All expenses paid? Then what did he just shill two silvers for to make the barkeep brew some coffee?
Oh well, it's not like they were his silvers.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"Wait, really? Ah, I guess y'all just mince and fry the garlic as part of the dish. I like having it as a condiment, maybe a snack too. I used to have a little jar of it, I seem to have dropped it... back in Helvetia. Oh, well."

Takes a bite out of the sausage roll, and a spoonful of sauerkraut.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"It seems like -- ooh, that's a good sausage roll. Um... Seems like I said something I shouldn't have."

No apology. It's worth the two silvers.

Now that Carmen's back with the group and Amaris inadvertently reminded him upon mention of her slaughter, there was indeed a question lodged in the back of Ludvig's mind ever since meeting every one of these people. He was sure this team of seemingly random people are all good people, but he just had to be sure.
He pivots from his barstool to get a better view of everyone in the tavern.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"Speaking of things I shouldn't say...
So, um... I guess we're heading into troubled lands tomorrow, huh? Lots of ne'er-do-wells and whatnot.
Hey, what's our stance on dealing with those who would harm us? Is it... Is it fatal? Are we on terms with fatalities?
Probably not, right? Church and all... although I also feel like we're coming into this just a tad too armed.
Not just you, my dearest. Literally everybody."

Glances at Amaris during the last two sentences and gestures wide.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Even Ludvig thought that the natural reaction was to be swiftly rejected, put off by the sudden upheavel of emotions unleashed within basically his first attempt at confessing to her.
Amaris' reaction is so far away from his expectations. A whole lot better than he expected, in fact.

Throughout her response and her ensuing interactions with Amanita and Mirielle, the word 'adorable' pops up repeatedly in his mind.
Even despite the little bit in the middle there about some slaughter.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"Which one of us here don't even have blood on our hands, anyway? I bet even Linnie maimed a few thieves every now and then."

Ludvig said within earshot of the bar where his fellow men Osric and Rezello sat, and also Oswald the barkeep.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"I was almost sure it was a job requirement."

He turned away from Amaris' direction and back towards his empty plate that still lacked the sauerkraut he ordered minutes ago. A momentary annoyance, before his mind turned to different thoughts and he caught himself smiling again. He glances at the closest person sat to him, Osric.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"I'm, obviously no stranger to rejection, right? You can tell.
And yet, she was being so considerate, and, and gentle."

Leans his head back, staring at the ceiling. Sighs.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"No, yeah. This is definitely love. I love her a lot.
I'll die for her if I had to."

A little while later, Ludvig gently slaps the countertop, equally annoyed and curious.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"Blast it with the sauerkraut... Oswald, could I have a sausage roll as well, please?
Also do you have, um... a sprinkle jar of minced garlic? Do you sell 'em? I'd like one of those to go."

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

'Normal, cheerful self', she says.

Ludvig stares at himself being reflected by the half-empty glass of water beside an empty plate of what used to be a decent plain omelette.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"I see... There seems to be a misconception. Um..."

Takes a shot of the remaining water in the glass, as if looking for some extra courage underneath that water. Heartbeat's rising. He hated confrontations precisely because of this, but this had to happen at some point.
He pivots on his barstool to face Amaris.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"I was cheerful to you alone. This is how I am normally, I'm actually not that much of a people-person.
I was just looking for a way to naturally excuse myself from the room, and you, my beautiful intimidating friend, were chosen by yours truly as my patsy."

Gently grabs Amaris' hand with both hands and pets it like a cat, like he's a grandmother imparting wisdom to her kin.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"I do need to apologize for that particular deception.
I did know about those robes beforehand, my family used to collect artifacts back in the day and that's one of the ones I've always wanted to get my hands on.
Figuratively, not literally like I did do."

He hoped the joke at least earned some laughs, as he lets go of her hand and turns back towards the bar and his empty plate. Points at his empty glass and hands it to Oswald.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"I did not lie about you, at least. I do find you beautiful. The teeth are... frankly a plus, to be honest. And you've been so amicable so far you actually became friends with Mirielle, which is an incredible feat in its own right.
Um... I, I think I do find you attractive. Very. Hell, some might even call it love at this point.
That's also why I'm being distant."

Glances at Amaris then back to Oswald handing him a new glass of water. He mouths 'thank you' in silence.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"Even now, I can still feel this growing mass of selfish desires inside of me, and all it wants to do right now is to know everything about you... and that's just not what either of us need right now.
You need to earn your freedom, I need to protect you all from harm, the team collectively has this... mission, we don't need distractions.
Although it seems a bit late for that."

Drinks the water with his left hand while showing the back of his right hand. Three subtle scars that nearly blend with his skin.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"Mm... Yep.
By the way I'm alright, as you can see... so.
Thanks for... repeatedly asking the others to check up on me.
Honestly I'll be fine if you did stab me intentionally, even a hundred times.
And you can take that as an invitation."

Glances at Amaris and winks.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

She orders food as extravagantly as she dresses, he thought.

Raising the sunglasses onto his hair lest it fogs up as he drinks his coffee -- no sugar or anything in it this time -- Ludvig's eyes dart back and forth between the afro-haired cook and their team's only redhead.
No particular reason.

Their outfits did stick out a lot compared to people in the town, now that he looked at it. Especially Carnatia. A lot of gold trimming, and that headband. At least it didn't look gaudy.
Still, it's like she's being painted as a target for thieves, which might actually be a problem with the amount of coin Linceleste brought with her. The incessant jingling of coin emanating from the carriage throughout their travels, it must be numbering in several hundred.
Suppose that's assuming anyone would dare commit thievery in a town with a lot of military presence. Aside from maybe himself. Not for now, though.

Forks a slice of omelette as Osric sits down on the bar as well -- Huh, that is one plain omelette. Lightly salted. Visible specks of pepper dust. Bit creamy, must be butter.
Not bad.
He felt weirdly thirsty though, must be the butter. Coffee's not helping either, plus he felt like adhering to a balanced diet, especially since the omelette didn't have any greens in it.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Oh, I'll have some of that sauerkraut as well.
And some water, please. Thank you."

Chewing and gulping while glancing at the three, or rather noticing the lack of people aside from them. Glancing at the door.
Strangely anxious and relieved at the same time, at the persisting absence of a certain somebody.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Pink long-sleeved polo shirt with the sleeves folded up. Grey slacks with black suspenders. Brown leather shoes, fingerless gloves with exposed backhands, and strange diagonal leather straps on his upper torso area holstering three iron spikes and one sizeable book. Topped off with a black waist-high leather jacket worn only on the shoulders, hanging like a cape.
Lastly, same old burgundy sunglasses, possibly his favourite.

_{During the twenty-five-day trip...}

As if actively maintaining his status as an outcast after his stunt against the Blackthorn Witch, Ludvig remained socially distant with the rest of the team, wiling away the daylights lying down on his horse either reading a book pilfered from the library- a memoir to one Areston Lydus, or just sleeping. Impeccable balance for a former circus acrobat, lying his back down on a moving horse like that. Although, part of it has to do with his horse trotting instead of galloping like other horses.

Despite his preference for coffee, he thought it too much to ask Linceleste to store coffee beans in her storage, especially being the only drinker in the team that he knew of. Instead, for nearly every town they stopped at, he chatted up the nearest homes and brewed coffee in their kitchens. In a way it made the coffee more special and especially varied, for some houses had insufficient supplies of sugar or milk, and/or varied on whether they had white or brown sugar. Some of them even had chocolate.

At night, having garnered sufficient sleep during the day, he self-elected to be the lookout, burning past the nighttime brushing up on his martial arts by stancing or shadowfighting, or doing random calisthenics.

Despite the perceivable loneliness, Ludvig maintained a gentle self-satisfied smile that anyone with prolonged exposure to it would probably assume fake.

_{Present day.}

Ludvig was already not at his trotting horse as soon as Carmen finished talking, instead finding himself at the terrace of the aforementioned inn, drawn to the scent of food being served in it.

A shimmer of magic glossed over him a bit, making him just a little bit tidier as he handcombed his hair while walking towards the bar.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Hi. Yeah, can I have um... Coffee and an omelette, please? Any omelette will do."

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Hmm.

Ludvig placed the magically cleaned cup set back in the cupboard he took them from, while he mulled over how he'd go about answering the question.
And then, it clicked in his mind. The most efficient solution for him.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Uhh... I believe I'm somewhat of an unreliable narrator... Maybe that's something Adele should tell you herself."

Walks towards Linceleste, right arm reaching past her and towards the three iron spikes and the torn rag that began disappearing upon touch. His shadow casts entirely upon her for a moment.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Think of it as an opportunity to bond. I'm sure you two don't get a lot of those.
Should also be extra motivation for you to stay alive. Yes?"

Winks at her with a smile that visibly, immediately fades as soon as his glance moves away from her, along with his whole body, already heading for the door out.
Waves his right hand, not bothering to glance back at her.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Good night, señorita York."

_{A little while more...}

He sighed.
Lying down on the leftmost third row of the church benches on the building's main hall. Knees hanging over the armrest, left arm pillowing her head as he raised his right hand amidst the rays of moonlight emitting from stained glass windows.

Didn't really feel like sleeping with everyone else in the communal dormitory, especially with the stunt he did just pull.
Plus, he's been homeless for too long that he'd definitely fail to sleep peacefully on bed cushions.

It's all better this way. He had no regrets.
Not one.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Speak of the devil's daughter, Ludvig thought.
No, he internally took it back. Even that was too mean.

The back of his right hand should already be facing Linceleste the moment he was in her sights. Evidently the spikes aren't skewering it anymore, neither present were any wounds they would have left. In their place were indented scars, spots of thin skin slightly paler than himself.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "I'm fine. See?"

Wiggles his three other fingers that aren't holding up the coffee cup.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Nothing wrong with sipping coffee alone... Unless you came here to make it less alone?"

Flapping his left hand, urging her to approach.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Come. You're not too young to drink coffee, are you?
Wait, actually don't drink coffee. You'd want to sleep early for tomorrow. There's some milk on the pot here, it's just been pasteurized..."

Grabs a cup and a ladle, fills the cup with warm milk, hands it to Linceleste.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "By that, I mean boiled. Should be safe to drink.
I suppose it's been safe to drink from the start but eh, can't hurt to be safer."

Leans back onto the cupboard. Takes a final, huge sip from his cup of coffee.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "You definitely have your mother's hair. Not her eyes though, hers were a lot more... striking."

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

As soon as Ludvig's palm made contact, three spikes shot out to pierce his right hand and push it away. Well within his expectations.
At about exactly the same moment, chains spurted from below his eyesight. The sharp metal sounds they made, grinding into each other and smashing through the thorns that pierced Ludvig's hand, startled him, making him stumble and fall on his bottom.

He sat there on the ground, glanced at his skewered, bleeding hand with the thorns still pegged into it, and then at Amaris' unamused visage towering over him. His eyesight felt dimming, like the only light in the room was the pale woman and her white hair.
He held back a grin as he thought how little he'd regret if she killed him right at that moment. He caught himself thinking this thought, and self-reflected on how incredibly depraved that was, as he listened to her tell-all with veiled reprimands attached.

He stood up, spikes still lodged through his right hand, yet there was no blood on his hand or clothes. It didn't even really seem to bother him, using his same right hand to rub at the back of his own neck.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Nah, it's my fault. I failed to contain my impulsive thoughts. I didn't mean any disrespect, sorry. I-I think I'll just head out now."

Taps Carmen's shoulder. Almost taps Amaris' shoulder, thankfully remembers and reels back his left hand.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Sorry, mate. Sorry... Amaris."

Glances at the visibly seething Mirielle and shrugs with his shoulders.
Turns away from everyone, heading towards the nearest door, before glancing back at Carmen.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Oh. Which way is the kitchen?"

Even if he didn't answer, his face would've given it away.
The door closes, a little trickle of blood smeared on the doorknob.

_{A little while later...}

Kitchen.
Tiny splotches of blood and three iron spikes atop a torn rag on a countertop that Ludvig leaned his back onto. A freshly brewed cup of coffee in hand, three cubes of sugar and a tablespoon of milk stirred into it, in a ceramic cup with a saucer plate. He slowly sipped then sighed away the heat, while glancing out at a window.

^{『 Ludvig 』} "Adele's daughter... Amanita... Amaris...
That can't be a coincidence."

Another sip.