“What...?” The tavern gasped in unison.
“I’ve been watching you. You’re not such a bad guy,” Akane added.
Even Big Mama had turned to her, speechless. This wasn’t how they’d planned this meeting. Originally, Big Mama was going to keep King’s death a secret from Heaven’s Ward for the time being. It was a significant blow to Heaven’s Ward’s forces, which was a net loss for the city of Icarus. This was precisely why Big Mama had paraded Akane in King’s armor through the streets, and it had all been ruined thanks to Akane’s brain-dead play.
“K-King...! You’re a girl?!”
“You can talk?!”
“King’s kinda cute...”
“No way... King’s been a petite girl all along?”
How else could Heaven’s Ward have reacted?
While the men cooed and cawed, Big Mama palmed her forehead and gazed up at the ceiling—how was she going to explain this one?
Akane stripped out of her armor in an instant and stashed it all in her Backup Backpack, going back to wearing only her school uniform. “Hey hey! It’s King, aka Superstar Akane!” she said with a wink.
The tavern erupted in the cheers of grown men who’d never seen an attractive girl in a schoolgirl uniform before. Through her long career as an idol, Akane had mastered how to play men like fiddles.
Varkas alone did not join in with the other mercenaries. Watching Akane, he walked up next to Big Mama and said, “I didn’t think you had a sense of humor in you. That was one hell of a reveal.” So much so that his anger for the matriarch had faded.
Big Mama seemed to have run out of steam too. “If only it were a joke...”
“So, where’s the real King?” Varkas asked.
“Sorry to tell you, but a devil got her. High-rank, probably.”
“How?! King was in Euritheis, wasn’t she?!”
Big Mama chose her words carefully and told Varkas what had happened: her chance encounter with Akane, Akane being there for King’s last moments, and how King had left her keepsake with Akane. Finally, she handed Varkas King’s ID.
“So King’s really gone...”
“Ran into the wrong person at the wrong time—that’s all there is to it. This world can be cruel sometimes, can’t it?”
“She was one of the few people I’d trust to have my back in battle...” Full of unspoken emotion, Varkas sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that...” He slumped into a chair, and Big Mama took the chair opposite him. In contrast to the whirlwind of commotion around Akane, the pair were as quiet as funeral goers. “A high-rank devil, huh... You know anything about it?”
“Not much, but Akane seemed to recognize the devil... But don’t you go thinking about revenge. She wouldn’t want you to do anything like that,” Big Mama said.
Wordlessly, Varkas tugged over a bottle from the table and chugged its contents.
Big Mama watched him for a moment before glancing over at Akane. “You know, King smiled in the end, after it all... Now that’s not a bad way to go for us, is it?”
“Smiled... I wonder how many of us in Icarus could do the same when the time comes.” Death and danger constantly loomed above Icarus. That was doubly true for mercenaries like those of Heaven’s Ward. Varkas stared up at the ceiling, perhaps thinking of his own end that would come sooner or later. Would he wear a smile on his face when his time finally came?
“So, Big Mama. What’s the play?” Varkas asked.
“No one else is going to find out that King is dead. Lucky for us, her armor survived.” And also lucky for them, no one else had ever seen King unmasked—none would question that someone other than King was wearing her armor. Akane just had to be seen walking the streets to convince the whole city that King was still alive.
“Fighting without King is like keeping one hand tied behind our back. How long are you going to keep that secret?”
“Until we find someone to fill her shoes,” Big Mama answered.
Varkas scoffed, almost sneering at the idea. “That’s rich. You think someone who can fill her shoes is gonna walk in off the street or something?”
Big Mama’s features twisted. King had been known as a terrible menace to her enemies on the battlefield.
In contrast to that somber conversation, the rest of Heaven’s Ward was enthralled by what Akane had called a “Polaroid party.”
“Special discount for my new fans!” Akane crooned. “Get a selfie with me for just three silver coins!”
“Wh-What the...?! That thing just spat out a portrait!”
“What kind of magical item is that?!”
“Out of the way! I’m not going home tonight without a portrait with King—I mean, Akane!”
It didn’t take long for the mercenaries to devolve into a frenzy.
Big Mama stood up with a tired look on her face. “At this point, I’ll let you tell the story to the boys. You’d better come up with a good one.”
“Wait a minute... You haven’t told me who showed up in Euritheis telling everyone he was King from Heaven’s Ward,” Varkas said.
“I haven’t got a clue. All I can say is that I had nothing to do with it,” Big Mama said truthfully. Varkas believed her after hearing the whole story. “Whoever it was used King’s name to shift power in that city. No one had more enemies than Jack.”
“At least her name lives on,” Varkas snarled before reaching for another bottle, taking a swig in King’s honor. For mercenaries like them, there was some honor in achieving the sort of infamy that King had—especially if it played a part in taking out a mad dog like Jack.
Big Mama stepped into the frenzy of Akane’s party and dragged her out by the scruff like she was a wandering stray.
“I may be adorable as a kitten, but I’m not a real one!” Akane protested.
“Save your jibber jabber, you spoiled girl...” Big Mama nagged as she pulled her out of the tavern, leaving the members of Heaven’s Ward to admire their photos.
“L-Look how cute she is in this one!”
“Your face is in the way, though... I’m gonna cut that part out.”
“You lookin’ to die?!”
“Dammit! I would have gotten a photo of my own if it wasn’t for Big Mama!”
“Please, I’ll pay you five silver coins for that portrait—er, photo!”