Ch. 89 - A Heart for a Fingertip

Before Momo could find out what Sumire meant, the knight’s face was squished into the bartop, her sniffles and snores echoing throughout the tavern.

“I see no one’s dead, then,” Teddy remarked, lifting an eyebrow at Momo.

Momo frowned. She slipped her arms under Sumire’s, but the girl was surprisingly heavy. Momo nearly toppled over under the weight of the fluffy Luhhka. She turned her head to Teddy, exasperated.

“Will you help me carry her?”

—

The Knight’s Hall – now renamed Dumpling Hall under Momo’s leadership – had a surprising number of empty rooms. Seeing as Vivienne had been much more interested in preparing for a necromantic takeover than running a government, most rooms were filled with sawdust and scrap metal, remnants of failed building expansions.

The first floor, which housed the former Judgment Room and the Banquet Hall, had several such rooms. To earn some goodwill with the knights, Momo had them cleared out to become sleeping chambers for the highest ranking officials – namely Gorbrius, who was still sour after her and Valerica catapulted his ass higher than the moon.

The second floor held even more vacant spaces. There were at least five large, empty chambers, each designed for a different function, or so Momo assumed. Some had wide, glass-paned windows, others were small, cramped, and brimming with expired alchemy materials. Empty wooden name plaques hung over the door to each room, almost begging to be assigned and labeled.

Momo was given her first clue as to the function of these rooms when she came upon the plaque Housecarl, scribbled in ink as if it was written by someone who lacked opposable thumbs. She strolled in curiously only to find Nooblin sleeping peacefully inside a fully assembled vivarium, splayed out on a heat rock, surrounded by insects and lizard-sized plants.

In the same way that Momo had arrived in her own chambers greeted by perfectly plush cat pillows, a canopy bed, and several nap-worthy couches, the Hall had seemingly awarded the gecko with a chambers befitting his title.

Momo assumed it would work the same with the rest.

—

“Do you want to be my Military Advisor?”

Sumire blinked up at her in confusion, still emerging from her latest sleep spell. Teddy had dropped her on one of Momo’s many couches, gave Momo a parting salute, and left the druid to anxiously wait for the knight’s nap to end.

“Your what?”

“Military advisor,” Momo repeated, quieter this time. She had been preparing to ask for a good twenty five minutes, building the courage while Sumire snored on the chaise lounge.

“What does that mean?”

“No idea. But I know that if you accept, the system will build you a room that’s perfect for you. I have zero idea how it works, but it gave my housecarl a perfectly decorated aquarium.”

“Does your housecarl keep fish, or something?” Sumire laughed sleepily, rising from the couch to inspect the room.

“No, but he is a lizard.”

Sumire stopped, cocking her head back towards Momo.

“What?”

“There’s a lot of that around here,” Momo mumbled. “My Chancellor is an inanimate golden ball named Excalibur.”

Sumire laughed. “Gods. You’re a very strange necromancer, Momo.”

Momo blushed, looking down at her feet.

Sumire strolled out of the room, beckoning Momo into the hallway.

“It’s refreshing.”

—

“Are you sure you like this one?” Momo frowned. “I feel like all the sunlight is sort of counterintuitive for someone who’s constantly asleep.”

Sumire laughed as she stroked her hand along one of the many window panes. Of all the rooms, this one seemed the least befitting. It was completely bathed in sunlight, and cluttered with old art supplies – rusty paint brushes and palettes. Momo had thought about making it her personal art studio. Not that she ever had the time for hobbies.

“I like the atmosphere. Plus, I don’t like being asleep. I need some place that encourages me to be awake, not the other way around,” she explained. She nudged one of the boxes of paint supplies. “And I used to be a [Painter], before everything…”

She trailed off as she looked out the window.

“It’s a very kind offer and all, Momo, but I can’t accept it. It’ll only be a week or two until I have to return to the capital and be Roland’s babysitter,” she rolled her eyes. “No one else around to change his diapers.”

Momo’s face screwed up in disgust at the imagery.

“Why? He seems like an idiot,” Momo said boldly, crossing her arms. “And you’re way stronger than him. You could probably slice and dice him with that sword of yours and serve him on a Subway sandwich.”

Sumire laughed, shaking her head. “I have no clue what you’re talking about, but I agree about the first part. I could deadlift the asshole. But he…”

“Knows something you wish he didn’t?” Momo guessed.

Sumire frowned. “Correct.”

“Is it really that bad?” Momo asked. Her legs tired from squatting in front of the sleeping knight for too long, she opted to sit. The knight joined her, the pair of them cross-legged across from each other on the wooden floorboards.

Sumire sighed, looking at the bustling town square through the window panes.

“Yes,” she said, not elaborating. A moment passed, and she switched course. “There’s a reason I don’t look like all the other knights. Most of the fools who enroll as pages have parents who were in the Dark Calamity. They’re all locals with an anti-necro stick up their ass. Not me. I’m from the Barium Sea.”

Oh my god, I was right. She totally is a pirate. Momo held in her excitement.

“My parents were sea scavengers,” she said, looking at her fingernails absentmindedly. “And before you assume pirate, it’s totally different. They blew up pirates, and then took their shit.”

Momo blinked at her. “Isn’t a pirate who blows up pirates still a pirate?”

Sumire smirked at her.

“Yes, but don’t let them hear you say it like that. It’s a very noble profession back where I’m from.”

“That’s so cool,” Momo said, hearts in her eyes.

“It was a pretty amazing childhood. It was just me, my parents, and my –”

Sumire frowned.

“Dog.”

Momo’s White Lie Detection pinged like crazy. Still, the knight was visibly uncomfortable, so Momo chose to drop it. She knew family could be a sore subject. Hers was still living a life on a different planet, thinking she was dead by cheeseburger.

“You had a sea dog?” Momo asked instead, ignoring the obvious deceit.

“Oh, a great one. His name was Flippers,” she smiled broadly. Momo couldn’t help but grin back. “We’d play catch all the time – I’d throw the ball off the plank, he’d go swim for it, then I’d use one of our nets to bring him back up to deck.”

“That sounds incredible,” Momo said wistfully. “My cat would rather die than get wet.”

“Exactly how many animals do you have?”

Momo grinned excitedly. “Oh, so many.”

A minute later, the room was full with a pack of Nether wolves, an ostrich, an undead cat, a gecko wearing an apron, and several rats that Momo had imported from the Dawn.

“Also, there’s a gerbil inside my heart,” Momo added helpfully, pointing to the middle of her chest. “His name is Biscuit.”

Sumire blinked at her, completely speechless.

Oh no. That was weird, wasn’t it? Girls don’t like girls with gerbils in their arteries.

After a long pause, Sumire reached out and placed her hand right over Momo’s heart.

“Is that a… wheel?”

—

Momo detailed her rise to power, explaining her journey from bone delivery girl to Ruler of Nam’Dal. She left out a few choice details – how she was summoned from Earth, Valerica’s greater plans for kingdom domination, the missing person case of Vivienne and Nia – but left the crucial parts in, like Dusk defeating a vampire, and flying out of dodge on an argentavis.

“Wow,” Sumire said, completely gobsmacked. “So you really got abducted by some insane lady, and immediately started doing shit for her?”

Momo frowned. “That’s not exactly how I’d phrase it.”

“It’s exactly how I’d phrase it, but hey, I don’t know your life,” Sumire laughed. “I’ve been in weirder situations with stranger people. My story unfolded in a pretty similar way, if I’m honest. If you told me when I was a kid that I’d end up a Holy Knight, I’d have skewered you in the liver.”

Momo grimaced. Sumire certainly had a way with descriptions.

Feeling a bit brave, Momo decided to lift the kettle on the topic one more time.

“So why are you, then?”

Sumire frowned, and sighed.

“Seems unfair that’d you drop your heart out to me and I’d give you only a fingertip. So, fine. Roland’s got dirt on me, obviously. He found me at a vulnerable time, recruited me into his order – the White Moon – and has me do all his dirty work, on the condition that he… keeps a secret for me. An important one.”

Sumire raised from the floor, dusting off her cloak.

“Ever since this silly ruckus about a Quest started, he’s given me a looser leash. He’s been waiting his turn to get Jarva to notice him, so now he’s totally obsessed with being the one to –”

She stopped, smiling.

“I probably shouldn’t say that.”

“To get the Oblivion Stone?” Momo added helpfully, much to Sumire’s surprise.

“How do you…?”

“Gun-Gun,” Momo grinned, laughing. After a mumbled of course, that traitor, Sumire laughed with her.

—

The full moon watched over the unlikely pair as they made their way to the Northern Gates. That part of the city was a no man’s land at night, with the only audible sounds being the rustling wind and their footsteps on the fresh pavement.

“Are you extra super sure you don’t want to be my Military Advisor?” Momo asked when they came to a stop by the entrance. Sumire’s horse neighed happily to see her, bucking its head affectionately. She greeted him with a scratch to his mane.

“Good boy, Flippers,” Sumire cooed.

“Like the dog?”

“Yep. This one’s technically Flippers the Second,” the knight said, wearing a sad smile. “But his full title is a bit of a mouthful.”

Sumire strolled up to Momo, and reached out a hand for hers.

“It’s been a pleasure,” Sumire said. “Momo the Ripper.”

“It has been… nice,” Momo said nervously, rubbing at her arm. The hand Sumire had taken was practically vibrating, Momo’s entire body itching with expectation. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this way. It was a whole new feeling – warm, wonderful and terrible at the same time.

After a too-long moment, Sumire let her hand go. She moved it cautiously to her belt, where she drew out her scimitar.

“You really are one of the most genuine people I’ve met since I landed on this shitty continent,” she smiled. Momo didn’t detect a lie – but suddenly, the tip of Sumire’s blade had found her neck. “It’s actually very annoying, considering what I have to do.”

“Sumire… what are you –” Momo choked out, her heart thumping in her chest.

"Sorry, Momo," she frowned. "Seriously, I am."

All at once, she felt a striking pain slash through her neck, and the feeling of disappearing into nothing.

—

“Oh Gods, Momo,” Valerica yelled, grasping Momo around the shoulders. “Did you hold the kitchen knife the wrong way again?”