The Greatest Blades

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Annoying Burdens

"What are thou'rt names?" Ranni asked the two contrasting children. For whereas one bore raven black hair, the other flaunted a more striking orange. Whereas one remained calm and stalwart, the other cowered behind him.

It was quite a sight for her inquisitive mind, finding the irony quite interesting in its story value. Perhaps they would seek to be betrothed in the future, she mused to herself.

"Ren..." the raven-haired boy replied, unsure of their presence but the tightening of his belt reminded him of his temporary self-imposed duty. Yet, that sense of duty gave way to more uncertainty as he pried his eyes away from the woman of a strange color.

"Has my presence unsettled thee, Ren?" Ranni inquired, curious about their views on her four-armed, blue-skinned doll body. For their reaction was a glimpse of how she would be viewed in this world.

"I-I..." Ren stumbled over his worlds, finding that his throat caught up in nervousness. His averted eyes tried to return to Ranni's form but when he looked, he began to sprout some doubt.

Is she a droid from Atlas?

"Y-You're very pretty!" the orange-haired girl spoke up. Nervousness racked her too but boldness allowed her to voice a cover-up. "You look like a pretty doll!"

At her words, Ren snapped his head at her, looking at her in utter shock.

The Tarnished laughed out loud, finding the whole thing amusing.

Ranni gave a small frown at those words as she looked at her arms. She then remembered her newly adjusted plan. If I seeketh to blend myself in... Perhaps I should conform with to the standards of normality.

Despite her thoughts still in turmoil, she took note of the look the girl gave. "What is thine name, child?" she asked as warmly as she could give.

"N-Nora..." the girl found her bare feet an attractive target of her focus. Nervousness wafted off her as she assumed she was about to be punished.

"Thank thee for thine compliment, Nora," the lunar-aligned demigod said with as much softness she could muster. Her cerculean eyes looked at Nora's averted green eyes. "This doll body of mine is a master craft that I take deep pride in despite its current condition..."

She then showcased her lightly damaged four upper limbs. "Does it scare you?"

Ren looked on with hesitation and even some trepidation at what he rationalized as a "remote-controlled droid".  "Yes..." he murmured, his eyes now keenly interested in his feet.

"Thee has the courage to admit thine fear in front of said fear," Ranni mused as she retracted her hands and then turned to the Tarnished. "I grant thee my permission to leave my side and clear out the beasts."

The Tarnished, who stood on top of a building, tore his gaze away from Malenia's slaughter to her. He raised an eyebrow, taking some confusion in her words. "As if I would leave your fragile ass here," he snorted as he crossed his arms.

"Ah... But how would thee know if my arse is fragile if thou have never been able to touch my body?" As she spoke with mirth, she made her sorcery shield visible.

The Tarnished almost choked on his spit before giving a strange, confused glance at her. "You have a crass side?" he asked incredulously.