Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The trek back up through the labyrinth was just as dangerous as the one down. The difference was that they had gained knowledge of how the monsters attacked. The algae made itself prepare for attacks, and the angler fish had to be taken out before traversing the stairs. In both cases it was obvious that there was no one good way to deal with them, but the decision to use flame bullets into its mouth had turned out to be a good idea. It had taken four of them, but that was enough to put it down.

The fishmen were by far the easiest, but all in all they walked out of the labyrinth with well over seventy-five cores. Those cores would be sold, and he had absolutely no doubt that his father would have a decent payday after all of this. In a way he wondered exactly what it was going to be like for his Dad to have more money than he was used to. The idea of Delicate Emerald coming back home, demanding the money, and demanding that he pay for whatever wants she had filled his mind.

It was not an image that he was overly fond of. In truth he knew that the moment she came back his Dad would likely cave. Partly because of the woman he had loved, and partly because he’d become too conditioned to simply giving in to her wants and desires. It was something that was worrisome to say the least. He considered how he was going to express this when his Dad gave a short laugh, “I have to thank you again son,” he said as they made their way to the top of the labyrinth, “You’ve made it possible for me to find a way for us to use this money in the way we should.”

It took him a moment to consider what his father was saying, “Wait, you mean that you’re going to deposit it into the fund for the upkeep for the domain?”

His Dad nodded, “That’s right,” he admitted as they made their way to the first floor, “I plan on depositing it into the fund, and I plan on using it for the things that we actually need. I know that I’ll hear no end of grief from Delicate Emerald, but she can survive off of the allowance she receives. There’s no reason for her to get extra.”

He watched as his Dad stopped, “You know, I often wonder exactly what happened to her. Delicate was not like this in the beginning. She was a little spoiled, but she wasn’t as demanding as she is now. It’s almost like something at the Academy changed her. One day she went off with a group of girls, and the next she came back seething mad. She never talked about it, never explained a thing, but instead she just changed.”

It took a moment for Diamond Tiara to finally make a sound, “There’s a class,” she admitted, “It’s geared toward lower nobility, and specifically toward the daughters of lower nobility. Its entire purpose is to express how they should act toward their husbands. I don’t know what happens in the class, I’m not required to take it, but I’ve seen the changes made afterward. Whatever happened, it happened in that class.”

For Copper that was enough proof that the Academy had changed Delicate Emerald. The made it outside of the labyrinth and he stood there for a moment, “Okay, so that class is what’s changing the girls at the academy into the cold hearted women that they’ve become?” he asked as he looked at Diamond Tiara, “I mean it sounds like it’s being deliberately done. Why would they go through the trouble of doing that?”

Diamond Tiara shrugged as she stood there, “likely you would need to gain an audience with the king and queen to truly find out. Even then there’s no guarantee that they would tell you,” she admitted after a moment, “Likely it’s a well kept secret, and I would almost guarantee that it has to deal with maintaining power. The power diversity between the classes exists for a reason. The entire reason the lower nobility is separated from higher nobility is because their purpose is to be subservient. I’ve learned that it didn’t used to be that way.”

Copper stood there for a moment, “Wait, are you telling me that things used to be far more fair here?” he asked, his voice relaying the surprise he felt, “When did it change?!”

Diamond Tiara seemed to be lost for a moment, “There was a war,” she admitted after a moment, “Part of the Kingdom separated from us, and they became their own independent nation. When they did, several of the border barons joined them, and became their higher nobility. The problem was that the Kingdom couldn’t simply go after them. Doing so would result in stretching what were its national resources even further.”

She seemed to consider things for a moment, “This is information that you will be learning, since you are in the higher nobility classes,” she admitted after a moment, “It didn’t mean that there weren’t skirmishes between the new nation and the Kingdom. There were plenty of them. About a hundred years ago there was a massive battle, and some of the border barons believed that it would be better to forsake the kingdom all together. To not join in the battle, and to let the two rivals just deal with one another.”

She gave a mirthless laugh, “I don’t know what happened afterward, but how things were done changed. The entire way things became skewed happened then. I can tell you that it was purposeful, but the exact how they made it happen I don’t know.”

Copper wanted to ask questions. He wanted to know what could have changed everything, but if Diamond Tiara didn’t know then it likely was something that was only known to the royal family. Now he really wished that he would have paid more attention to the lore of the story itself. Maybe then he could have figured out what was going on. Still, there was something to search into. He was going to find out what was happening in this class that Delicate Emerald went to, and he was going to see if there was a way to change it.

The moment they left the labyrinth itself Copper wasn’t exactly sure what he had expected to happen. The most likely outcome would be that they would head home, and from there his father would take the cores and sell them at a guild. He hadn’t really expected much more than that. Instead what happened was that the airship they had rode in moved not in the direction of their home, but instead it was moving toward another territory. It was one that was neutral, and he knew that only because it had been so in the game. He’d never gone there, and his father hadn’t really talked about it either. Still it made him curious about why they were heading there.

“Dad?” he asked as he neared Gold Bit, “Where are we heading?”

There was a moment of silence, “Son, I’m heading over to Baron Hothoof’s” he replied as he headed the ship, “He owes me a favor, and I am going to cash in on it. I never really believed that I would, but what Lady Rich has told us more than makes up for my cashing in on the favor.”

Diamond Tiara moved near them, “Wait, are you talking about Baron Bow Hothoof?” she asked as she neared them, “I know of him, but only in the fact that he is a standing member of the adventurers’ guild. Specifically I know that this Daughter, Rainbow Prism Dash Hothoof, currently is the head of the adventurers club at the Academy. More specifically she’s done more of the labyrinth raids than most of the other students. Some have said that she’s almost unstoppable.”

Copper had to stop and think about it. Rainbow Dash was another main character from the same game. She was mostly the friend that the protagonist had to make in order to date Spear Point. While it was never confirmed for certain he pretty much believed that she was bisexual, and her bromance with Spear Point was one of the few things that made his arch of the story tolerable. From what he could remember she was actually a pretty chill character, and she wasn’t all up her own ass like most of the girls at the Academy. His guess was that she cared far more about adventuring than she actually did trying to find a husband.

“I’ve heard some about her,” he admitted as they flew, “Dad, what kind of favor does Baron Hothoof owe you?”

There was a moment of quiet, “Back when we were in the Academy Baron Hothoof, Bow, had his eye on a girl that the daughter of a knight. She was pretty below his station, and he knew that. He didn’t want to marry her for that reason, but instead he actually liked her. He liked that she was a kind person, and she was so enthusiastic about everything,” he said as he looked out over the horizon, “So, I helped him find a way of getting her father promoted. The way I figured out how to do it was to arrange for him to have to save a couple of the higher nobles in the labyrinth. It was enough to raise her father to Baronet. It was still a lower station, but that he could marry without any questions.”

The answer was simple then. He’d helped Baron Hothoof find a way to marry his wife. Yeah, that was a hell of a favor, and Copper knew it. It was the kind of favor that was guaranteed to get some return on it no matter what. He looked out toward where they were heading, “So, what kind of favor are you calling in?”

He breathed as he looked at the horizon, “I want my Delicate Emerald back,” he said, his voice firm, “I want her back to how she was. I can’t believe that the woman I loved, the woman that wanted to marry, would willingly turn out the way she has. Lady Rich has confirmed that. So, I want to ask him to have his daughter help look into what’s happening there. She might be able to check out the class, see what’s really going on, and maybe she can report back to him and he can let me know as well.”

The answer was there, and he understood all too well. His dad wanted to get back the woman he married, and he wanted to find out what was causing the girls to change. Having a girl search for the reason seemed like a good idea, but at the same time it was tricky. There was a chance that they could do something to her. That they could potentially change her. That was certainly something that he didn’t want to see happen.

“What if they get to her?” he asked as he looked at the island in the far off distance, “I mean that’s a possibility, right?”

His Dad’s shoulders slumped a little, “I thought of that as well, but I don’t know of any other way of doing this. I want to find out what’s happening, and what’s causing the girls to change. I want to know if there’s a way to change them back,” he said, his voice firm, “I need to. I need to know if there’s a chance.”

The pain in his Father’s voice was plain as day, and he couldn’t deny what he needed to have happen. There was no way that he could tell him that it was a bad idea. Sure, it had every possible chance of going poorly. There was little doubt that it could turn sideways at a moment’s notice. Instead there was a touch on his shoulder, “Captain, I shall assist her,” Artemis said from beside them, “It is not uncommon for girls to have servants attend to them, even in classes, and My presence there will not raise any suspicions. In truth, I may be the only one that could assist her and ensure that this bit of espionage goes off without a hitch.”

The words were direct, and Copper was thankful for it. Artemis was right that her presence wouldn’t really be counterproductive to finding out what was happening in the class, and additionally it would potentially ensure that whatever secrets were being hidden inside of that class would be discovered. With that small reassurance Copper felt better about his Dad asking Baron Hothoof to return the favor to him. As they made their way toward the island he noticed another ship in the distance.

It wasn’t what most would consider a noble’s airship. It was missing the usual things that made the airship of a noble stand out. Where most nobles’ airships looked more decorative and extravagant this one looked more along the lines of functionality. It was something that certainly spoke to him. In truth he liked the idea of an airship being less frills and more actual ship. As it neared he could see that there was a name painted across the side. It was still far enough away that he couldn’t tell what the name was, but regardless he understood that it was a commercial airship.

Most likely someone was returning to Baron Hothoof’s domain. If that was the case then he would likely see who it was when they arrived. Maybe it was Rainbow Prism Dash Hothoof herself. If that was the case then they could get the entire thing out of the way. It would be a step toward his father achieving the goal he’d set for himself, and it would be a chance for him to make some connections with another border baron. That was certainly something that was going to take some getting used to. The idea of networking with other border barons wasn’t something he had to do in the game, but he realized that it was a very real thing here.

He had to deal with the fact that networking in this world was necessary. He had to make connections, and he had to ensure that those connections would be able to help in the future if needed. Right now his Dad’s connection was going to help him. It was a favor, one that he’d been owed for ages, and he wondered exactly how it was going to play out. Still, the airship made its way to the docks, and he waited as the gangplank was lowered. Applebloom and Diamond Tiara exited first, and then Gold Bit went down. Finally he and Artemis exited the ship, and he felt her take his hand.

“My Captain,” she said as they made their way down, “I will find out what is happening to change the women of the Kingdom at the Academy. I do this not just for your father, but I also do this for you. It is obvious that you would like to have some kind of relationship with Delicate Emerald. I am uncertain if there will be one, but perhaps having the chance will be enough.”

He held her hand, felt his heart breaking slightly, and then nodded, “It will be,” he admitted as they made their way, “The entire time growing up Delicate Emerald has been a thorn in my side. She’s been a constant pain, and I know that it’s because of the way she handled herself. She has acted entitled, mean spirited, and just plain evil at times. I can’t help that I’ve found her personality repulsive, but at the same time I would like to get to know the woman my Dad fell in love with.”

Artemis slowly let go of his hand, “And I promise that I will do all that I can to make that happen, my Captain.”

As they walked he saw the other ship dock near their airship. The word Serenity was stretched across its side, and somehow it seemed familiar. He couldn’t place where he’d seen it, but he knew that he’d seen the name before. Slowly its gangplank was let down, and he watched as people began to exit. There, to his surprise, was Sunset Shimmer. The girl of higher standing seemed to have noticed him, and he watched as entire face lit up.

That was something he wasn’t completely certain of. Why would she be so excited to see him? They knew each other, and sure they’ve hung out a fair bit, but there was something to be said about the fact that she was more cordial than anything. She had seemed interested in attending his tea parties, but that was really about it. He breathed out, considered what was going to happen, and just shook his head. He was reading too much into this.

He couldn’t believe that she would have left the school, or her own home, and traveled out to see him. There likely was another reason for it, and he wasn’t going to assume that it was for him. The moment that someone assumed that was when they made an ass out of you and me. He certainly didn’t want to make an ass out of either of them. So instead he followed his Dad, and he watched as Sunset didn’t come toward the Baron’s home, or anyone else there. Instead she came directly toward him. He felt confused, “Sunset?” he asked as she neared him, “What’s going on? Is everything alright? Do you need something?”

She shook her head, the smile remained firmly on her face, “I had wished to come and visit you. The airship I was on was coming out this way already, but I had expected for it to take another day, or perhaps two, to make it out to your home. You don’t mind me visiting, do you?”

The question was loaded, and he hated those kinds of questions. They were the kind designed to get a person into trouble. They were the kind that was meant to trip a person up, and regardless of what he said at this point he was going to be in some trouble. Maybe she would be able to get along with Diamond Tiara and Applebloom. There was a possibility there. But he knew that Artemis wasn’t going to be happy about her being there. She accepted Diamond and Apple simply because she could potentially see herself sharing with them.

“I don’t think that it will be a problem,” came the voice of his father, “I will officially welcome you to our home when we arrive, but first I have to speak to Baron Hothoof.”

She nodded, “Of course,” she admitted as she smiled at him, “I will graciously accompany you, and if I may be of any help I will gladly lend it.”

Copper realized that everything was about to get far more complicated.