This Used To Be About Dungeons полностью

“No,” said Alfric. “No, she was going to undo it, if I bowed to her will. If I was going to be her… partner in crime, I suppose, on those undone days. There were arguments that nearly swayed me. I wouldn’t have any memories of the transgressions. But I said no, and that was that. I undid the day, trying to get to them, to talk to them, but she’d laid all the groundwork. It was like a trap that had been waiting there, hidden, and the only way to get her not to use it would be to convince her, which I failed at. I don’t even think she wants to be a dungeoneer. So the reason that I’m here, with this party, is because I didn’t want to bend for her. I didn’t want to be that kind of person, even if I wasn’t going to remember it.”

“And her turnin’ up here is no coincidence,” said Hannah, nodding. “Seems a thorny situation we find ourselves in.” She was very careful to include that ‘we’. Alfric needed help, that was clear enough, and it was better to reinforce that they were a team. It would probably also do to say it out loud.

“No coincidence?” asked Mizuki, looking at Hannah. “Meaning that she followed Alfric here?”

“It seems likely,” said Alfric. He let out a groan and slumped against the couch. “All I want is to be left alone.”

“Like Verity does,” said Isra. She still had her arms folded and a cool expression on her face.

“Point taken,” said Alfric. “I’m hoping she’s more upset about keeping the secret than she is about the ability, because if it’s about the ability, there’s nothing much that I can do.” He sighed, then stood up. “Are there any other questions that I need to answer before I take a bath and then sleep the sleep of the dead?”

“Are we in danger here?” asked Mizuki.

“No,” said Alfric. “Absolutely not. Lola isn’t what I would consider a good person, but she’s not going to assault anyone, even in an undone day.” In Hannah’s opinion, his conviction was just slightly lacking. “And if anything happens to any of you, from Lola or anyone or anything else, I’ll undo it and protect you.”

“Well,” said Mizuki, who seemed somewhat warmed by that. She looked at the door to the room. “Is Verity just going to sleep in my room?” asked Mizuki. “Because that’s the one with the big bed, and I was going to share it with someone, but I don’t just want to go in and say that’s what we’re doing. I should have arranged it over the channel, sorry.”

“I’ll see if she wants me to sleep next to her,” said Isra. “We shared a room last night.”

Hannah felt like she was the only one who noticed that offer from the usually quiet Isra. It was good that they were finding friends in one another, and she wondered whether it was something more, though neither of them was giving any of the usual signals.

“So no other questions, especially about the chrononaut stuff?” asked Alfric. “We can talk about this more in the morning, and on the way back, but I’ve done too much today, and my body is aching.”

“You’ll tell us, if you ever reset the day?” asked Hannah.

Alfric hesitated. “I’ll tell you if I saw you that day. I do, from time to time, take a day off and go out to train on my own. I’ve done that, since we’ve known each other. I leave a note, when I do.”

“So if there’s a day when we see a note, we’ll know you’re going to undo the day?” asked Mizuki. “What do we do then?”

“Act normal,” said Alfric. “There’s no good protocol. Keep your head down, do your work, don’t take risks, don’t try to find me. We can talk about some of the ethical questions later, so I can have your opinions, if you still want to be in a party with me.”

“Why wouldn’t we?” asked Mizuki. “You can literally undo it if I get a scratch. Seems good.”

“People have complicated opinions,” said Alfric. “I’ve been dealing with those opinions for years. I won’t take for granted that you don’t feel awkward about it or that you don’t hate me for it. It’s one of the reasons I was putting it off.”

“Go take your bath,” said Hannah. “You stink of dungeon. And we’re a team, ay? If she needs it, I’ll help you smooth things over with Verity, but I don’t think she’ll need it, she’s just tired.”

Alfric nodded, then trudged off to the bathroom.

“Wild,” said Mizuki once he was gone. “So we were never in danger this entire time?”

“Seems like,” said Hannah. “Puts him in a bit of a different light.”

“Does it?” asked Isra.

“The ’nauts are tricky ones,” said Hannah. “They’ve a reputation for both takin’ risks and bein’ conservative, but I’d guess they’re more than their power, and I confess I’ve never met one.”

“More than their power?” asked Isra.

“Most people are, more than their power, more than their profession,” said Hannah, nodding. “You’re more than a druid, Zuki is more than a sorc, and I’m more than a cleric of Garos, though I hew close to the mold.”

“Zuki?” asked Mizuki.

“I don’t know what people say about druids,” said Isra.