Tales of Berseria The X: Beyond Calamity

Chapter XXXVI: Farewell to Tenderness

Shoarune Inn, Glenwood

"Battle plans, artes, and techniques... I hope Alisha doesn't have any problem with them." Sorey's mind was busy all night.

Nevertheless, he couldn't ward off his concerns for Alisha's consent on their strategies. He immediately took off towards her room. Alisha's bedroom was across the hall. It didn't take a few seconds for him to reach it. Sorey instantaneously barged in,

"Hey, Alisha...." In a second, his thoughts and ideas escaped him. Sorey learned that he was precipitative in his actions; Alisha was sitting on her bedside, stripping off parts of her armour.

An uncontrollable scream came out of Sorey's mouth, followed by a quick turn on his heels,

"Sorry! I didn't know you were getting changed!"

Alisha's brows darted up, her face wrinkled as she suppressed a chuckle, "It's okay. I was cleaning my armour a bit."

Alisha's thoughtful response made Sorey ease at heart, but he felt more guilt at the same time. He turned a little bit towards her, but enough to still hide his flushed face, "Still, it was pretty brazen of me just to enter a girl's room like that."

The pure, virtuous heart of Sorey was known to Alisha from a long time ago. There was no need to assume the worst. She smiled for him, "Then allow me to invite you into my room officially. Come in, Sorey."

Alisha's gentle invitation and her comforting tone of voice relaxed his nervousness sensation. Sorey approached the princess, wearing an innocent grin and a red face, "If you insist!"

"Was there anything you wanted?" Alisha asked kindly.

The excitement was too much for the young Shepherd. But Sorey managed to collect his thoughts effortlessly, "Oh, I was wondering if you're okay with the pace of the battle. Let me know if you feel overwhelmed."

Alisha bowed her head slightly in response, "I'm fine. My lance and armour are as good as ever."

Sorey's eyes were locked on her armoured gauntlets and greaves. They seemed to be strange and exciting at the same time. His sense of curiosity got the better of him, "I've been waiting to ask you, actually: your armour is special, right?"

Alisha giggled. She picked up one of her gauntlets from the bed, pointing to the ebony and glass-looking guard piece, "...You mean the transparent parts, right? This armour has been passed down through the Diphda family for generations. I'm farthest from the lineage, but there's an ancestor of mine who was renowned for his courage and bravery."

There was nothing more thrilling than knowledge for the young boy. He started to rub his chin, eagerly waiting to hear more details from the princess.

"... It has been said that his story is tied heavily into Ladylake itself; he defeated a monster which turned anything it saw into a black crystal and saved the family of the architect who later started to work on the construction of Ladylake."

Sorey's eyes stared blankly for a moment, "Black crystal? Malevolence... Wait, does that mean he was a Shepherd?!"

Alisha shut her eyes and shook her head, "I don't know... It is an old legend, after all, but I'm certain that these are the parts of armour he wore." Alisha smiled again, tilting her head to the side, "Do you want to see the rest?"

Sorey suddenly beamed, "Yeah, sure!"

Alisha sat on the bed, taking off the other remaining gauntlet from her arm. She held it for Sorey to satisfy his sense of wonder. He scrutinized the golden insignia intently as he bent over Alisha, "It's a lot clearer than I thought it'd be! I had no idea! And it seems enchanted. No wonder why your armour is resistant to hellions' magic."