(A/N: I'm back from vacation. Did you know it gets kind of cold in Alaska? Who would've thought?
That was sarcasm.)
************************
(1 hour later)
Artoria threw the last jerrycan aside. It was the fifth one. For an hour, non-stop, she kept up the waterboarding on Yuuki, not letting him get a chance to talk. Just as he was about to drown to death, she stopped to let him catch a very slight breath, only to continue again.
As soon as she was done, she took Yuuki's chair and dragged him to another room. She opened a door that blended in perfectly with a wall. You wouldn't think there was a door since there was no outline of a door or an entrance.
As she entered the room, it was completely white. The roof, floor, and ceiling were white. Everything in the room was white, and all the surfaces were smooth. Not even a shadow could be produced due to the lighting method of the room.
She untied Yuuki from the chair and took off the hood from his head before throwing him into the room. Yuuki immediately started to take deep breaths as he felt he could properly breathe for the first time. Before he could properly get a sense of his surroundings, he felt something thrown to him. A set of white clothes.
Before he could say anything, Artoria left, shutting the door.
/\\//\\//\
"Pay attention, Soeui, you need to know these things. I have more things in store just in case Yuuki still doesn't feel like cooperating." Artoria said as she left the cells for enhanced interrogation.
"How long will he stay there?" Soeui asked.
"I don't know. Until I remember to check on him again. There are other things to do. What I want you to do is go to our justice department and have them draw up a written confession. Make sure they include all the things he's done and was involved in. Make sure the top leaders of the department sign it, and when that's done, hand it to me. I want to sign it personally." Artoria said in a serious tone.
"I'll get to it," Souei said as he disappeared in a blur.
/\\//\\//\
Artoria went to Rimuru's office, ready to tell him about what was going to happen. She knocked before she went in. She found him just relaxing a little, and for once, not doing any paperwork.
"Has Lady Luck blessed you today, Rimuru?" Artoria said as he saw him reading a manga.
"Huh? Oh, uh, I guess?" Rimuru said in slight surprise as he looked up from reading.
"Anyway, look, things are going to heat up internationally soon. It involves Yuuki. Just know that everything will be under control, and that this will help us a lot. And the information that will be put out there won't alert the Eastern Empire too much." Artorai immediately said without any build-up. She said it in a straightforward manner.
"What…What did you do?" Rimuru said. He hasn't exactly been up-to-speed on what missions or things Artoria is doing.
"Nothing much. Just killed some people, captured Yuuki, and he is currently undergoing enhanced interrogation techniques. Anyway, how are things going for you?"
"Uh…um…uh…fine?" Rimuru said in an unsure tone. Not knowing how to react to the way Artoria was saying these things so nonchalantly.
"That's good. Any news from Diablo?"
"No, not yet."
"I see. Well, tell me when he shows up. I'm going to check on Hinata before she leaves." Artoria said before she left.
/\\//\\//\
Artoria walked through town and found Hinata. She was at her restaurant. She entered and found her seated, enjoying a meal and the ambience around.
"A nice after-mission meal, Hinata?" Artoria said as she sat down next to her.
Hinata looked up and wiped her mouth with a cloth. "Yeah, the food here is really good. Luminous mentioned that she wants a place like this in the kingdom. Would that be possible?"
"Yeah, it would be, but it might be a bit expensive. As you've probably noticed, all the ingredients used in this restaurant are local. They come from here. If you want food of the same quality in your kingdom, you'll need to import most of it from here. If you want, I'd be happy to negotiate a trade deal with you. I'm always up for these things. Do you have the kind of power to represent Luminous?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Wonderful. Want to get started?" Artoria was a little eager to start negotiating, but Hinata had other ideas first.
"Before that, the music as well. What is that violin playing? It sounds so fast."
"Oh, that. Well, it's country music with me playing on the fiddle. We made a speaker to play music around here. We record things, and then play it. And we also have live music on occasion."
"No, not that, well, that too, but the other type of song. It sounds like a violin and other instruments. Like, techno or something, but the violin is clearly the main instrument."
"Oh, I know what you're talking about. That's me playing. Now, not my songs, no, don't think that. I just know how to play them. The song you're hearing now is called Roundtable Rival."
Hinata slowly nodded. She could see the appeal, but when it came to violin, there was something missing. "I do notice a lack of classical music," she said.
"I don't really like classical music. I used to, but when you have to play again and again all the time, it takes the charm away. And I don't mean practice. I mean actual performances in front of a crowd. It just became a routine at one point for me, instead of playing violin."
"So, no Mozart or those other people?"
"Nope, not at all." Artoria was quick to say it, but there was a classical composer she liked the most, even with how she felt towards classical music. "Well, there's this Russian guy who's really cool." As she mentioned it, an idea came to her mind, "Actually, I have an idea for the future. I'm going to talk to a composer soon."
Hinata ignored her small distraction. "Well, Lumionus also likes the music. She wants to know if you're able to provide the methods to make that kind of music."
"Oh sure, yeah, I can give it to you. Anyway, let's talk about getting you a restaurant like this."
For a few hours, Artoria and Hinata negotiated a small trade deal that involved plans to open a restaurant like this one in Lubellious. It would involve simple exchanges. It was basically money for the various materials and food that would be imported. It wasn't anything long-term, just a small trade deal.
"Alright, Hinata, it seems we're done."
"Yeah, that was simpler than I thought." Hinata started to get up to leave, but Artoria stopped her with a question.
"Before you go, how are things between you and Luminous?"
Hinata paused for a moment, trying to look away and hide her face. "I'd rather not talk about it."
"I see. When you get to your kingdom, tell Luminous, 'in another timeline, things might have been different.' She'll know what I mean."
"Okay."
/\\//\\//\
Well, this was a bit of an eventful day. But now it's time to head home, relax, and work on my side projects. I went home and went to a little workshop. It was a bunch of alchemy stuff. I was in some simple clothes, perfect for just being at home.
It was time to finish what I had long started. I started to use my magic on myself, attempting to modify my body. I was only looking for a temporary change, nothing permanent. I had done this many times before, and it was easy at the start. But for some reason, it was the last part that seemed the hardest. I don't think it's a problem with my magic, but more me.
Maybe I need to be more focused on my desires. Well, I know what my desires for doing this are. Do I just need to channel it further? Let's try.
As I continued, instead of trying to think about why I'm doing this, I thought of what I'm going to do. I imagined in my head what it would be like. What it would…feel like. I imagined what the end goal is.
And as if something clicked, it happened. At least, I think it did, because I no longer felt the magic trying to modify my body. It felt more like I was using my magic to maintain a form.
I was skeptical at first, but when I moved, oh, there was something... different. Well, there was one way to know.
I looked.
And lo and behold.
"Merlin's legacy lives on. That damn wizard." I said to myself as I looked at my successful results.
Now what? Do I just get to it?
As I was thinking of this, I heard from the Voice of the World.
{Unique Skill acquired: Hero Creation.}
.
.
.
I looked around all over me. Up, down, left, right, I even spread out my senses.
"Alright, which higher power is missing with me?"