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 Thirty-eight

The wolfkin male that attempted to head off Viscount Copper Plum Bit was punched by an arm that had been enhanced by magic. He was lifted up, thrown back, and slammed into the wall. He slid down, it was obvious that he was out cold. The other two servants attempted to rush him only to be met with both him, and Artemis, knocking them out cold. The heiress that stood before him looked truly scared, “You’re getting it now, aren’t you?” Copper asked, his voice sounding nice and sarcastic, “You’ve stepped into something, and you can’t get it off now. The only thing that is keeping your head attached to your shoulders is the fact that Princess Luna has not asked me for your head yet,” he said before he looked away from her, “Princess, do you want it? I will gladly remove it from her shoulders. It is just deserved for what she did.”

The sister to Queen Celestia walked closer. Where her sister was often remarked as warm, inviting, and open the same could not be said about Luna. She often came off cold, indifferent, and blunt. She stood before the girl, the same one that had struck her, the one that was currently trying to melt into the wall itself, “Please,” she said, her voice now containing a nasally whine to it, “Please, I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I just thought that you were some ugly old hag!”

The look of anger crossed Luna’s face, “Thou hast said enough!” her voice became so loud that the windows shook, “We have experienced multiple lifetimes of nobles like thou. Nobles that believe all should serve while thy kind take. Nobles that do not come close to the word. Thine punishment is as thus. We shall inform thy family of thine transgression, and thou shalt appease to thine family’s mercy. Perchance thine family will merely forgive thou, but we thinks not. We thinks that thou shalt be forced to marry well below thine station, forced to birth those thou wouldst have looked down upon. No LEAVE!”

With that the girl inched her way to the door, took one last look at Copper, gave him daggers that told him that she was not done yet, and then she ran. The girl was a piece of work, and a horrible one at that. Still, at the moment it didn’t matter. He turned his attention to Princess Luna. Beside her was Diamond Tiara, and he noticed another person walking behind them. There were no guards, no other presence, but he knew who it was regardless, “King Consort Baked Bean,’ Copper said as he bowed his head in respect, “You honor me by attending.”

The King Consort gave a small smile, “Thank you,” he replied, “Actually, I was going to speak to Apollo. Queen Celestia should be along as well, but I wanted to introduce you to Princess Luna,” he said as he stepped into the cafe with her, “She has been asking about the ruffian that took her nephew to task. I wanted to show her that you were a decent young man, and one that did what he did for the country, not for his own gain.”

Copper gave a slight bow, “As would any decent individual,” he remarked, “Still, you grace me with your presence, as does Princess Luna, how may I humbly serve you today?”

The King Consort gently nudged the Princess next to him, “See, a delightful young man. I fear that I was too lax with how we raised Apollo. I would have liked to have seen him become as strong in conviction as this young man is,” he stated as he stood there, “Still, I suppose we could possibly trouble you for a spot of tea, maybe a biscuit or two?”

He gave a nod, “Of course,” he replied as he welcomed them both inside, “Although, Princess, the offer I made earlier stands. You need only say the word, and I will become your judgment toward that heiress.”

Princess Luna shook her head, “No, that is not necessary,” she stated, “I fear that I had become so angry that I slipped into a more archaic form of speech. That hasn’t happened for some time. Still, my coming was to speak to you of your actions. Not just with the duel with Prince Apollo, but rather even the actions when finding the pirate that had captured that border noble family. You’ve proven yourself to be trustworthy, and your recent climb of status has led me to believe that you would be well suited.”

He looked at her, “Well suited for what, your highness?”

She smiled, “Tell me,” she said as she studied him, “What do you know of the temple knights?”

He looked at her for a moment, “They are a collection of individuals ranging from commoners to nobility. They follow the direction of the head priestess, and they are there to ensure the protection of the temple, to keep a lookout for the saint, and to ensure that the followers of the kingdom’s religion are kept safe,” he said as he looked at her, “There’s also the fact that they have quite a bit of leeway when it comes to marriage. They are permitted to marry well above, or below, their station.”

She nodded, “Just so,” she replied as she studied him, “Corporal Long Sword has been asked to become a member of the personal guard for my niece,” she stated as she looked at him, “he is a dependable, trustworthy, and freely operating temple knight. That means that he does not live in the barracks, he does not reside completely in the temple, but instead he is supposed to move throughout the kingdom. He only comes to the temple when there is a need for it. I find myself needing a replacement, and when I spoke to my brother-in-law he made this suggestion. Well, he and Viscount Fancy Pants made the suggestion.”

A feeling of appreciation filled Copper for Professor Fancy Pants. He hadn’t realized that he too was a Viscount, but the professor was truly skilled at negotiation, and he also understood the reasoning behind the manners and mannerisms that had to be used for a tea party. It wasn’t just attracting a wife, but instead it was about preparing for power. It was to establish a world where people could act in a way that wasn’t barbaric and would get results that would be beneficial to all. The fact that he thought highly enough of him to suggest that he could be a temple knight made him feel considerably better.

“I suppose that this is something that isn’t just being asked, but rather I am being given this new addition, correct?” he asked as he looked at her, “Not that I mind in the least, but I just wanted to understand where my stance was in all of this.”

She nodded, “Truly, you are being given the duty as temple knight. In truth, you will begin immediately, and you will also be acting as temple knight on the third part of the festival. As such you will both represent the kingdom, and the temple, at whichever destination that it is you will be traveling to,” she stated as she looked at him, “I expect that you will do so in a manner that is befitting someone of your rank.”

He understood exactly what she meant. He was to behave like a true noble. He wasn’t to start problems, but she was expecting him to finish them if they came along. It honestly was just asking him to keep doing what he had been doing. More or less he found that things just seemed to happen, and of course he basically stepped into whatever it was, and tried to make the best of it. It wasn’t exactly the best option in the world, and he knew that, but at least it was something he’d decided was better than just waiting around for something to happen.

“I see,” he said after a moment, “And the official duties that all temple knights have to perform?” he asked as he looked at her, “I mean I know that there are duties that they are responsible for, and of course there’s parts of the festival that they are required to set up and deal with. As a temple knight would I be required to go and deal with those duties as well?”

She gave him an appraising eye, “It is refreshing to know that you understand the other parts of it, but no. Being that you would be an initiate, a beginning knight, this festival wouldn’t be necessary for you to go and ensure that the other duties are performed. For the most part those are being taken care of the knights that live at the temple,” she replied, “It was the same leeway that Knight Long Sword has as well.”

He nodded and then he looked at the door as it opened. He saw Button Mash come in with a young noble woman. She looked a little distressed, but he gave them a smile, “Just find a seat, and I’m sure that Button won’t mind serving you some tea,” he said before he looked back at her, “Then I suppose that all there is left is for me to accept, right?”

Luna shook her head, “Unfortunately no. You are a temple knight, but you will not fully be one until after the festival. There is a ceremony that must be observed before the title can be fully placed upon you. Which means that I do want you to act as a temple knight without fully being one on the final third of the festival,” she stated as she looked at him, “You will have my blessing, and you will have my backing, but those will be the only two things of authority that you will have besides your own ranking. You will have to make due with them.”

He nodded, “Okay, I’m a little confused, exactly what is it that you’re interested in me observing?”

Princess Luna studied him for a moment, “The royal family has a gift, it is often shared between siblings; however, with Celestia and myself it is not. I was born with the sight. I am able to see into the cycles of time, not clearly mind you, but I am able to see where time has begun, where it ended, and what happens between,” she said as she looked at him, “There are a few events which have changed now. Things have not followed the order as they had before. I find myself looking at a different timeline all together. There are similarities, things that have remained constant, but they are skewed. One such of those timelines deals with you.”

He felt his heart start to race, but she raised her hand, “Fear not, I have no reason to do a single thing against you,” she stated as she smiled, “I’ve simply noticed that you are one of the factors that has caused a skew in the timeline. There are others, some massive, some not, and all of them seem to have set a different timeline into motion. In a way it is exciting. Knowing what can come to pass tends to make things a bit more boring. This is far more exciting.”

She gave a smile, “Still, I find that there are parts of it that worry me. For one, there has been movement happening near the border region. It is near an area where the trip will be taken place. That is where things become unclear. Because of the fracture of the timeline I cannot tell where it will happen, only that it will. So, this leaves us at a very strange place. I need someone that I can trust, someone that I believe will have the good of the people as his main concern, and that someone is you.”

He nodded, “not that I mind in the slightest, but why not simply assign some of the knights to accompany?” he asked before she shook her head, “Unfortunately another skewed event has taken place. It seems that there has been a recent series of illegal raids into the Capital’s labyrinth. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but one of the great treasures of the temple resides within the labyrinth. It was believed that it being left there would ensure its protection. So, with that series of raids that have been happening we can no longer be certain.”

It wasn’t the news he was hoping for. Once again he wished that he would have paid far more attention to the lore of the game. Instead he’d more or less done everything he could to ensure a complete one hundred percent of the game. Sure, getting that one hundred percent meant talking to extra students, making friends, going to every single possible side quest and minigame, and trying to do all of it as effectively as possible. The one thing he did know was what she was talking about though.

On the final part of the festival there was a set up for a potential enemy of the kingdom to show up. Still, that entirely revolved around the idea of information getting to that enemy. He didn’t know who was talking to them, because the game hadn’t just shown him, but he did know that in order for it to happen one of the bad endings for the game had to be set up. That meant going and getting a key item way before it was time to get it.

That key item was exactly what Princess Luna was talking about. It was a bangle of power, hidden deep in the labyrinth, and protected by an entire colony of crystal scorpions. The only one able to get to it would have to be the protagonist and her love interest once both were leveled up as much as they could be. The protagonist needed the bangle of power, the headdress of dreams, and the bow of midnight. These three specific items granted her the complete access to her powers.

For Applebloom it would completely awaken the potential she had inside of her. Still, he knew that right now the bangle of power and the headdress were both safe, more or less, in their respective areas. The headdress only obtainable in a quest that dealt with the Pirate Lord. He could remember the quest itself. A person had to challenge the Pirate Lord to a game of liar’s dice. Once they won, which it took him saving and restarting about twenty damned times, the Pirate Lord would challenge them to a duel.

The duel would be old school, swords at the side, and both would fight until one was dead. The winner would get the headdress, and as a bonus would be given a head damned start to get out. The new Pirate Lord would give them a single day to get of their territory. The thing was the Pirate Lord himself usually kept the headdress wherever he went. He remembered that too. Supposedly it allowed extra magic to be directed through his armor when he used it, allowing it to be faster.

Which that was the absolute truth. The Pirate Lord’s armor was one of the toughest in the game. It was second only to a main baddie from the war ending. That ending sucked. It pulled all of their resources into an unneeded war with another nation. That nation was one that was ruled by a tyrant that claimed to have been the true heir to the Lunar-Sol Kingdom. He could remember that as well. He looked at Princess Luna, “What you’re worried about happening, would it be dealing with the one of the neighboring countries?”

She nodded, “It would,” she admitted, “Our talks and treaties are often seen as little more than postiering. That had been the truth in the past. Queen Celestia and myself have attempted to actually repair our standing with the other nations. I do fear that some of our ancestors had a more laxed attitude when it came to dealing beyond our borders,” she said as she shook her head, “There was no need to be so laxed, but regardless they did little to keep our neighbors from attempting to attack our borders.”

He nodded, and he hated that he knew the country she was talking about. They were considered small, and their coming to power was fairly recent. They had only came to power a mere two hundred years ago. That power was after a self proclaimed king removed his lands from the kingdom. The lore of the game was messy, and he ignored a lot of it, a necromantic tyrant was something a person tended to remember.

“What does my authority look like if we are engaged in battle?” he asked as he sat there, “I need to know, what am I allowed to do, what am I not allowed to do, and how far can I use your name in order to achieve those goals?”

She looked at him, “You are allowed to retaliate completely. Disarm the enemy, stop them, kill them if you must, and capture their figures of authority that are there. Once that happens we will need to question them, so bring them to the kingdom itself,” she said before she looked at the King Consort, “additionally, my brother-in-law has opted to give you something else,” she said as King Consort Baked Bean slid a letter across the table, “You’ll officially be a temple knight when you return, but you will be a representative of the crown during the trip. The paper will be meaningless to an enemy of the kingdom, but it will be enough to ensure that those who consider themselves citizens recognize your authority.”

He nodded, “I see,” he replied as he looked at the letter, “So, this is something I should use if I need access to anything that can be of help, right?”

King Consort Baked Bean nodded, “Exactly,” he said as he stretched, “As much as I have enjoyed this, and I have, I do need to make sure that my son has actually kept his word. I also need to ensure that things are returning to normal,” he said as he stood, “Luna, why don’t you remain here for a moment.”

Copper saw the princess’ eyes widen, “Brother?”

He laughed, “Only that I know you never really had a chance to enjoy the festival before. You were made to study for the head priestess from an early age, and so you didn’t get to make any memories. I believe that Viscount Copper Plum Bit could certainly act as a proxy in that regard.”

Copper smiled, “Absolutely, I would love to help you experience some memories, tell me, has anyone ever told you how absolutely enchanting you look?”

The faint blush that crossed the cheeks of the princess was enough for him to know that no, they had not told her about her beauty before.