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You throw the towel in the hamper after drying your hair and crash in a massaging recliner. Vibrating chairs are another service offered by the gym. Francis is already here, sipping on a bright red cocktail, and Orianne, Selene and Natsumi are just stepping out of the changing room to join you.

A hot shower, a relaxing chair and whatever drinks you can smuggle into the base while the Commander is busy. It's not a bad way to relax after a stressful mission.

Everyone else sits down and you all just stare at the floor, not knowing what to say.

"So." Francis breaks the silence in between two sips of his straw. "That happened. And now it's over."

"Three down, four left," you say. "The others shouldn't be as disturbing. Except maybe Andhaka, I guess."

Sure, the demon lords all like excess, but what are the odds that another one likes to stuff humans until they become morbidly obese and then bleed them dry to make wine?

Higher than you'd think, probably.

"Has there been any news about… treatment?" Selene asks.

"The Asklepian is active," Orianne says. "It shouldn't be too difficult to heal the people we rescued."

"And now that America and Africa are no longer under constant threat, it will be easier to move reinforcements," Natsumi adds. "We will have an advantage no matter where we go next."

Where you go next is either going to be Europe Lucifer, Balor or Arachne, or India for Andhaka.

- "Let's just relax while we can."
- "Have your Relics gotten stronger?"

>>683091
>- "Have your Relics gotten stronger?"

>>683091
> have you're relics gotten stronger?
Give our ribbon a belly rub and tell it it did a good job.

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>>683091
As much as you'd like to lie back and enjoy the vibrations, you do have business to take care of.

"Have your Relics gotten stronger?"

"Vimana and I have our own thing going," Francis says. "Just assume we've got your back."

"Yes, that unfounded assumption will be greatly comforting the next time we get into a fight," you say. "Anyone else? Gleipnir only does the something but better, so if we're going to expand our tactics, I'm going to need your help."

"Ame-no-Ohabari told me that it could seal flames within the earth now," Natsumi says. "It should make fire-based creatures slower when I hit them."

Like your Gleipnir, only more specific and its full power can only be used over multiple attacks.

"I think I should be able to… 'hang' an arrow, is the best way to put it, I suppose," Selene says. "Once an ally makes a successful attack, the arrow will automatically fall from the sky and hit the target as well."

Setting it up will take time, but in combination with Natsumi or your power, you might be able to set opponents up for a fatal attack.

"I suppose you could call my new power the opposite of my Joyeuse's first power," Orianne says. "It makes it easier for me to hit enemies when I'm surrounded by allies. Something about the queen representing the might of her knights."

Overall, it's a good mix of tactical abilities and straight damage.

- "I'm not sure if this will be enough."
- "We can work with this."
- "I'm glad the team's getting more powerful."

>>683263
>- "I'm glad the team's getting more powerful."
Gleipnir is a one trick pony but its one trick is very powerful.

>>683263
> I'm glad the team is getting more powerful
Soon there will be none left to oppose us, MWA HA HA HA

>>683263
>- "I'm glad the team's getting more powerful."

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>>683263
"I'm glad the team's getting more powerful," you say. "It makes us more likely to survive and succeed."

"Does it even matter if we succeed?" Selene asks. "Billions are dead already. More people die every day than our born. Are we even accomplishing anything?"

Yep. Selene's still in a funk. Your encounter with Shezmu's slave camps so soon after Natanael's betrayal was really rough on her, and she wasn't that easy to deal with in the first place.

Natsumi and Orianne are both looking at you. They coped with it better, but they're still inexperienced. They don't know what to say to help Selene.

And Francis continues to give no fucks.

- "It's because things are bad that people need hope."
- "We can't change what happened in the past, but we can change the future."
- "Selene, you really need to get over what happened."

>>683468
>- "It's because things are bad that people need hope."
- "We can't change what happened in the past, but we can change the future."
It shouldn't be hard to mix both

>>683468
- "It's because things are bad that people need hope."
- "We can't change what happened in the past, but we can change the future."

>>683468
> we can't change the past but we can the future.
WTF Selene, we are demonstrably ending an existential threat, how can you say that doesn't matter? Even if the world is still a shit place at least people will survive.

>>683468
>"We are. Sure, people are dying every day, but if you think that saving even a handful more doesn't accomplish anything, perhaps you should go tell them that."
>"But more than that, we don't do things because they're easy, or because they benefit us - that sort of behavior is what got Natanael what he deserved in the end - we do things because they're the right thing to do. If we, with the power to do so, won't, then how can we expect the rest of humanity not to lose hope as well?"

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>>683468
"It's because things are bad that people need hope," you say. "We can't change what happened in the past, but we can change the future."

"Is that really all we can do?" Selene asks. "Aren't we supposed to be heroes?"

You can't help but chuckle. "You can't be courageous if you're not afraid of anything and you can't be a hero if everything's going to hell," you say. "If you want to be a hero, you need to accept that there are people who need to be saved. That's just how it is."

"So it'd be better if we weren't heroes?"

"It'd be best if the world didn't need heroes," you say, "but it's better for the world to have heroes when it needs them."

Selene hugs her legs - she is wearing underwear under her bathrobe, sadly - and goes quiet. Hopefully, she's thinking about what you said.

"I guess that's true," Orianne says. "I never really thought about it that way."

- "It's our unfortunate reality."
- "There's no point in dwelling on it. We just have to keep going."
- "Should we start thinking about our next mission?"

>>683686
>- "There's no point in dwelling on it. We just have to keep going."

>>683686
>- "There's no point in dwelling on it. We just have to keep going."

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>>683686
"There's no point in dwelling on it," you say. "We just have to keep going."

"Where do you want to go next?" Orianne asks.

"No idea," you answer. "We'll deal with it later."

"Later sounds good," Francis says. "I'm going to go get dressed and then go to a bar to flirt with this cute bartender I know. Anyone want to come along?"

"You've been drinking for the last hour, Francis," you say. "There are eight empty glasses on your table. I'm looking at them right now."

"It doesn't matter so long as I'm not driving," Francis says. "Vimana practically flies itself."

"I think I would like to go out for a bit," Natsumi says. "It has been some time since I tried alcohol."

"I'll just go back to my room," Orianne says. "Sleep sounds good right about now."

"I'm going to stay here for a bit," Selene says. "I need to think about things."

- Go out with Francis and Natsumi.
- Talk with Orianne for a bit.
- Stay with Selene.
- Go to sleep yourself.

>>683869
>- Stay with Selene.

>>683869
>- Stay with Selene.

>>683869
> drag Selene to the bar with Francis and Natsumi
A good hangover will distract her.

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>>683869
"I'll come along," you say. "So will Selene."

"I don't -"

"That wasn't a suggestion," you say. "The four of us are going out. Orianne, are you sure you don't want to come along?"

"I prefer to drink alone," Orianne says. "It's less embarrassing that way."

You get dressed and join Francis to walk over to the bar. Natsumi seems excited about it, while Selene is more reluctant. Unfortunately for her, now is social time.

The establishment is a little crowded, but there's still room at the bar. Francis sits closest to the bartender girl, Amelia, with Natsumi, you, and Selene sitting to his right.

"Welcome back, fearless heroes," Amelia says with a smile. "What can I get you."

Francis goes for another cocktail, while Natsumi studiously examines the list of drinks. Selene is looking around the place like she has no idea what she's doing here.

- Order some cheap beer.
- Order a socializing cocktail.
- Order something hard.

>>684017
>- Order a socializing cocktail.

>>684017
>- Order something hard.

>>684017
> Order a socialising cocktail
But not a bloody Mary...

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>>684017
"Dry martinis all around," you say. "Stirred, not shaken. It's better for the flavour."

"Three martinis coming right up."

Amelia takes out a pitcher and mixes the alcohol. She pours the martinis and slides them over. It's a standard upper-class party drinks, a safe choice for Selene and Natsumi.

The two women sniff at their drinks a little before taking a sip. Their face scrunches up a little like they're not used to alcohol yet, but they don't spit it out or pass out.

- Chat up Selene. You dragged her here.
- Chat up Natsumi. See how she's enjoying it.

>>684178
>- Chat up Selene. You dragged her here.

>>684178
> Chat up Selene
Ask if she has been getting much worship lately.

>>684214
This is a bully-free zone

>>684178
>- Chat up Selene. You dragged her here.

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>>684178
You turn to Selene. You dragged her here, so you should entertain her a little.

"Feeling better?"

"I don't know," Selene says. "Isn't alcohol supposed to make people feel better?"

"It's a depressant, actually," you say. "So no. It can be relaxing though, but I find that it varies from person to person. I know a guy who just loses his motor functions. Can't even feel his mouth after a few drinks."

King Arthur is an embarrassing drunk. It's a shameful secret known only by an elite few.

"You can just enjoy the taste," you say. "That's the point of a cocktail instead of drinking alcohol straight."

Selene shrugs and slowly sips her drink a few times. "I guess this isn't bad," she says. "Should I try to figure out what kind of drunk I am now?"

- "Maybe when you have more experience."
- "If you think it'll make you feel better."
- "Sure, why not?"

>>684366
>- "Sure, why not?"

>>684366
> Sure
I'll let you know in the morning

>>684366
- "If you think it'll make you feel better."

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>>684366
"Sure, if you think it'll make you feel better," you say. "You're an adult woman. You can do what you want."

Oh, wait. She's not. Neither is Natsumi for that matter. The only adults here are you and Francis. Come to think of it, what is the legal drinking age in New York?

Welp. Too late to worry about that now. Selene's tipping her glass, Natsumi's tipping her glass, Francis drank more cocktails than he left at the base and when you look down, you find that your martini is now empty as well. You have no idea how that even happened.

So you decide to order another drink.

You decide to stop when Francis starts making out with Amelia across the counter, and Natsumi and Selene are both about to tip over and fall asleep.

"I think we're done for now." You almost need to put Francis in a chokehold to get him off his girlfriend. "Wouldn't want to give the patrons the wrong idea about the kind of establishment this is."

"Hey, I don't need to pay for sex!"

"Of course you don't, Francis." You give him a pat on the back and look at Selene and Natsumi.

- Carry Selene back.
- Carry Natsumi back.
- You can manage both of them somehow.

>>684571
>- You can manage both of them somehow.

>>684571
>- You can manage both of them somehow.
What could go wrong?

>>684571
>- You can manage both of them somehow.
B rank END

>>684571
- You can manage both of them somehow.
What could possibly go wrong?

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>>684571
"Can you walk on your own?" You ask Francis.

"Sure, no problem." Francis takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair to spike it up. "There, good as new."

"Okay, I'll take those two." You hold Natsumi up with your left and Selene with your right. It's like you're one crutch being used by two people, but at least you're not being chased by a horde of angry goblins. As long as no one pukes over your shoes, this is going to turn out a lot better than it did the last time you were in this situation. "Let's go, ladies. Bed awaits."

Natsumi and Selene grumble something incoherent, while Amelia waves you goodbye.

You return to base at a snail's pace. Fortunately, there isn't much traffic around here, so you don't need to rush to cross the streets.

As you return to HQ, you're greeted by the guards.

Then you walk past the guard and run into the Commander. Her single arching eyebrow asks far more questions than her voice ever could.

"I'm not even going to bother," she says with a sigh. "I just need you to tell me where you want to go next."

Selene lurches uncomfortably.

"Are you sure we can't do this in the morning?" You ask. "I think these two need a bed. Or a bathroom."

"I'll get a bucket, just in case," Francis says.

"I want to get this done before the day's over," the Commander says. "You're technically in charge, so pick."

- "The UK. It's time to kill Balor."
- "Italy. Lucifer must be dealt with."
- "Greece. Let's take out Arachne."
- "India. Andhaka is the most urgent now."

>>684796
>- "India. Andhaka is the most urgent now."

>>684796
>Arachne
Her crimes against fashion can not be allowed to continue!

>>684796
>- "Greece. Let's take out Arachne."
Time to save Europe

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>>684796
"Greece," you say. "Let's take out Arachne. It should be another quick mission."

"You know Arachne's lair is full of giant fucking spiders, right?"

"We can deal with spiders," you say. "She's the softest and most obvious target in Europe. We can use her as a launching point for Lucifer and Balor if we want to go that route."

"In that case, I'll have the intel ready in the morning," the Commander says. "Just get these two back to their beds safe. I'm sure Francis will show up again at some point."

You bring Natsumi and Selene back to their rooms. They're coherent enough to find their rooms, but not to get changed, so you just take off their boots and tuck each of them into bed. Just to be on the safe side, you leave a glass of water and some medication by their bedside.

You return to your room and take another shower before going to sleep.

Then you dream.

Spiders. Fucking spiders everywhere.

- "India. Andhaka is the most urgent now."

>>684960
And that's all for tonight. Relic Quest will return on Sunday October 16th at 7PM EDT. I'll also be running Beleaguered Prince Quest on Friday at 7PM EDT.

As I said on Twitter, I'm considering Anonkun as an option in case Asian moot goes bankrupt at the end of the month. Given that Relic Quest's isn't that popular and I don't have a good spot to transition smoothly to another website, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it if 4chan does shut down. 4chan passes are getting shilled pretty hard, so I'm hoping the site will stay afloat and that I won't have to deal with it, but I am keeping an eye on things just in case. You can follow my twitter account @BeleagueredQM for updates.

As always, goodnight and thanks for playing.

>>684999
Thanks for running