The Simulacrum
~Chapter 103~ Part 1

Sometimes, a new environment made one realize things that were, in retrospect, quite obvious. Such as that, despite already having a pair of vintage massage chairs back at the base, I somehow never used one before this day. Granted, those weren't recliners, and a bit less sophisticated than the one I was sitting in at the moment, but considering how much my tired back and hips appreciated the rollers tirelessly working under the leather covers, I felt a little silly about only just discovering their benefits.

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the experience, as Morgana soon let out a content sigh in the chair next to mine. She already had a morning soak, and had her hair done up in a bun again, and more curiously, Ichiko was on top of her, napping on her lap. I was familiar with that kind of thing, as she made a habit out of sleeping on people's laps, including mine from time to time, but she normally did that in her tiny fox form. I had an inkling she would've done so this time as well, except I'd explicitly forbidden her to transform while at the resort.

The reasoning was quite prosaic; the place simply didn't allow pets on the premises, and while we had yet to see any employees beyond the placeholder receptionist lady and the Goldfish Poop Gang, it was better to be safe than sorry, and the less said about someone accidentally catching her in the middle of her transformation, the better.

Ah, but speaking of the three reformed delinquents, they were also responsible for the room service, so after the tall guy delivered our breakfast in the morning, I took the opportunity pull his aside and covertly question him. As it turned out, his uncle was running a company with multiple small shops and food courts across the island, and he got them a part-time job for the winter break. Pretty familiar.

While I did that, the tall guy (Jones, I think) unsubtly questioned me about why I was sharing the room with two girls in return, and after I explained my relationship to him, he nodded along like he completely understood everything. In other words, it was practically guaranteed he had some kind of contrived misunderstanding, but I didn't try to correct it. While it was a loosely related trope at best, such misconstructions weren't particularly uncommon in hot springs episodes, and I had a feeling that trying to set him straight would've just led to more shenanigans.

While on the topic of hot springs tropes, I also had to admit that I was starting to feel a little antsy. We'd been at the resort for close to a whole day by this point, and there was nary a hint of weird developments. Well, besides Judy agreeing to have a lewding-free day after she, predictably, overdid things. I won't go into details, but it included an impromptu contest with the princess, lots of sore muscles, and handcuffs getting banned in my household, and let's leave things at that.

Anyhow, while Judy readily dialing back the throttle on our sex life was unexpected (though if I had to guess, it was probably because her hips were hurting at least as much as mine), it wasn't the kind of Narrative-driven unpredictable development I was predicting. I figured that we would've had at least one overtly 'ecchi' event in the form of some accidental exposure or an unforeseen wardrobe malfunction, but so far, there was nary a hint of that. Was I getting too impatient? After all, it had only been a single night. It also wasn't a rule that we absolutely had to have such events; we could just as well have a family-friendly stay, with only cute interactions.

"Funnyuu!"

Glancing over, I saw Ichiko stretch her back, only to ball up again and go back to sleep while Morgana gently stroked her head. Well, it wasn't the kind of 'cute interaction' I had in mind, but I take it.

"Careful, Morgana. You're spoiling her," I whispered to my neighbor, half-joking, but she took my words completely seriously.

"I disagree, your majesty," she whispered back, and continued her head-patting efforts. "Children are meant to be pampered." Blinking in surprise, I was just about to point out that she was technically older than the rest of us in the resort combined, but before I could get a word in, she added, "Remember that you had also been a child once, and not so long ago."

"Um… Yes. Or so I've been told."

Now it was her turn to blink uncomprehendingly, right until the proverbial light bulb lit up over her head.

"My apologies. Your condition completely slipped my mind. No offense was meant."

"None was taken."

She nodded, and apparently considered the conversation over, focusing her attention on the girl sleeping on her legs. I, on the other hand, had a sudden question rear its head at the back of my mind, and had to ask it before I got distracted by something.

"Did you know me as a child?"

"In a manner of speaking," she answered, sounding unusually unsure of herself. "I was introduced to your majesty by Sir Percival, not long after he recruited you along with Penelope."

"From the orphanage," I guessed, and she nodded along. "How old was I back then?"

"I'm afraid I don't know."

"I'm okay with a ballpark guess too."

She remained hesitant, but after some thinking, she answered with, "If I had to estimate, I'd say around twelve or thirteen."

"And this was how many years ago?" I pressed on, and this time she spent even more time considering the question.

"You gained your mantle of the Lion Knight two years ago, you served as Sir Olen's Squire for a year beforehand, and you had spent four years as Sir Percival's charge before that."

So that's at least seven years, and then I add my estimated age at the time, and… I knew it! I really was older than the others! Thankfully, it was only by two years at most, three at worst. I had no idea what Critias's age of consent laws said about an age-gap like that, but just the fact that I no longer had to worry about being a baby-faced thirty years old took a huge weight off my chest. The fact it took this long to figure this out was also pretty annoying, but the other Knights, including Penny, doggedly refused to talk about my childhood in detail, as if afraid that I would recall some terrible secret or what have you.

On a side note, I had no idea what kind of expression I was making at this moment, but it somehow prompted Morgana to keep talking, and the first thing she said immediately piqued my interest.

"The first time we met, I considered you a strange child."

"Really?" She only nodded, but after being thrown a bait like that, I couldn't exactly leave it alone. "How was I as a kid?"

She paused again, and I imagined she was collecting her thoughts. As it turned out, it had more to do with picking the right words.

"You were quite… gregarious. You easily maintained eye contact and were able to lead conversations your way even at a young age. You were friendly, but you lacked warmth and your words often felt hollow and conniving. You also had a… unusual relationship with Penelope."

"… As in?"

"You two came to the Brotherhood together, as brother and sister, but from the outside, it felt too one-sided. She was depending on you to an unnatural degree, she was always hiding behind you and looking for your approval, and never did anything without your consent."

"Really? Are you saying Penny used to be shy? Huh. I can kind of see it, but kind of can't at the same time…"

"No, your majesty. That isn't quite right." Seeing that I raised a confounded brow at her comment, Morgana slowly shook her head and lowered her voice even further. "Your majesty? Will you allow me to speak my mind freely?"

"I… didn't think you needed permission to do that." She only continued to intently stare at me, so I quickly relented. "Yes, please do."

"I shall do so." Despite saying that, she paused once again, as if still unsure whether she was supposed to keep talking. "Please do not misconstrue my words as a sign of disloyalty, but… I believe the best word to describe your relationship with Penelope at the time is 'exploitative'."

"I was exploiting her?" I echoed her, and she softly grunted in agreement.

"During the few times we interacted over the years the two of you were in Sir Percival's care, I always felt that you were purposefully keeping Penelope isolated, to ensure that she would have no one else but you to rely on."

"Seriously?"

"That was my impression, and Arnwald also shared my opinion at the time. I understand that it's hard to accept, but if you demand it, I'm willing to swear an oath of honesty and put my honor on the—"

"No-no. There's no need for that," I cut her off before she could gather steam. "I believe you. I mean, I don't remember any of this, but if you say that's how things were, I have no choice but to accept it."

Not to mention, I already had an inkling that something like this had been going on, just based on the baffled expressions the senior Knights were making whenever I had a completely normal sibling interaction with my knightly sister. That said, Morgana's description not only confirmed some of my suspicions, but also made me wonder just how bad this 'exploiting' thing used to be if even she couldn't sugarcoat it.

"I will do my very best to live up to the trust you invested in me," Morgana declared, and she would've likely done a salute, if not for the girl still sleeping on her lap.

"No need to be so dramatic about it." I waved her off, then a stray thought later I added, "That said, the Penny I know really doesn't strike me as a shrinking violet type."

"If by that you mean being withdrawn, I believe it is all thanks to Sir Roland's influence. She used to be her Squire and apprentice before Sir Percival bestowed the mantle of the Unicorn Knight upon her."

"He can do that?"

"Certainly. As the Keeper of the Bloodlines, his goal was to search for potential new members of the Brotherhood and, if found worthy, bestow one of the vacant mantles upon them." She paused here and gave me a questioning look. "It is a role you had inherited from him, and it was the reason why you came to this island. Did the others fail to explain it to you?"

"No. Or rather, I knew I came here to test Josh, and that's why I brought Cal with me, but I didn't know about the rest of the details, no."

"I must talk with Arnwald then. I can scarcely believe he forgot to explain one of the Brotherhood's most important offices to you."

"To be fair, the whole thing is kind of obsolete now, since we rebranded to the Ordo Draconis, so don't be too hard on him."

"If your majesty requests so, I will follow your orders."

"Not every word that comes out of my mouth is an order, you know?" She looked at me like I just told her Jupiter was made of cheese, so I moved the conversation along. "Anyhow, since this came up, you might as well explain it yourself. Does that mean that this Sir Percival had control over who would become an Entitled Knight?"

"The Keeper of the Bloodlines only had the authority to bestow vacant mantles on the worthy. For members on active duty, it was more common to groom their successors personally, before passing the mantle onto them."

"When they retired?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"… Okay, let's ignore the gruesome details and focus on the inheritance. So, Penny joined Roland's entourage, but since he's still active, she got a vacant title instead."

"That is correct. I believe Sir Percival specifically brought her into the fold to have her inherit the mantle of the Unicorn Knight."

"And I was dragged along for the ride," I added jokingly, but she nodded like I was dead serious.

"So you are aware. I imagine Sir Duncan must have been unable to hold his tongue in your presence. He had bemoaned your presence ever since the first time you two had encountered each other." She paused here, and showed a thin-lipped smile. "I was happy to see that your relationship had improved a great deal since the last time I had seen you in Boston. As expected of your majesty."

I almost reflexively told her to look twice, but decided to keep the conversation on track instead.

"Putting ol' Dunky aside, I figure that I got my Lion Knight title through Percival as well."

"Indeed."

"Was it nepotism?" She once again looked at me funny, so I clarified, "I mean, the Lion Knight is supposed to be a weapons specialist, and last I'd heard, I used to be a pretty pathetic duelist."

"Please do not put yourself down, your majesty. You were merely on the… less proficient side." She must have realized that was a dead-end, as she quickly backpedaled. "Essentially, you had received your mantle upon Sir Olen's recommendation."

"There's that name again. Who's he?"

Morgana patiently explained, "Sir Olen was the previous Raven Knight. Your majesty apprenticed under his supervision as a Squire, along with my nephew. Upon his retirement, Sir Olen appointed Agrawain as his successor and recommended you for receiving a mantle of your own. Or, at the very least, that is how I've heard. I wasn't present at the occasion."

"Oh. So some Knights did retire after all. Also, is it just me, or was the Brotherhood way more interpersonally entwined than expected?"

"I don't know what your majesty might or might not have expected, but such were our ways since the founding of the Brotherhood." Morgana's eyes narrowed into smiling slits and she added, with an amused voice, "Why, Sir Roland used to be my apprentice, while Sir Duncan was at one point Arnwald's first Squire. Not to mention, the two of us apprenticed under the late Dame Cilla."

That… certainly explained the whole 'big, slightly dysfunctional family' vibes our Knights occasionally gave off, and I honestly didn't know how to feel about the fact that my pre-amnesia self was apparently the black sheep of this group. Then, as if reading my mind, Morgana spoke up again.

"If I may be so presumptuous to advise your majesty, I hope the Ordo Draconis will uphold this tradition of the Brotherhood. Forming strong interpersonal bonds is pivotal for forming a strong, united organization."

"I don't really have anything against it, but I hope you're aware that, with the current recruitment drive mainly being aimed at Draconians, you're going to have to form those bonds with them."

"It is hardly an issue. Due to your majesty leading by example, the Ordo Draconis is already known as a place where anyone can find their place regardless of origins. It is only proper that we, as your retainers, do our utmost to follow the new path you broke with your own feet."

"You… are making this sound way more grandiose than it actually is," I pointed out, but she only smiled at me in return, like she was impressed by how humble I was or something equally silly.

However, before I could clear up her misunderstanding, we were both startled by a high-pitched cry coming from the direction of the baths. I reflexively rose to my feet, but before I could even ask what was going on, a startled Ichiko all but flew off Morgana's lap and landed in an unsteady martial arts stance.

"Wha? Where's the bad guy?"

"Easy there."

I stood up and stabilized the groggy girl by placing a hand on her noggin. In the meantime, Josh rushed out of the arcade corner and poked his head through the doorway leading to the outdoor baths.

"What happened? Did someone get hu—?"

"Kya! Don't look!"

That second cry came from Angie, and a moment later Josh staggered back with a wet towel hanging off his face. My first instinct was to Far Glance at the women's bath (there was nothing perverted about it, since it was an emergency, and they were wearing swimsuits anyway), but before I could get to it, my phone began to buzz in my pocket.

"Yes, Dormouse?"

Despite the commotion still going on in the background, Judy sounded entirely indifferent as she curtly stated, "Chief, we had a peeper."

"Oh? Well, about time I say. How serious is the situation?"

"Penelope noticed his head over the fence, and Elly threw a rock at him."

"Wait, do you mean one of the big ones around the pool? Did anything get broken?"

"No. She overshot it. Rinne had jumped out of the water and she said she was going to apprehend the culprit, but she already came back and she's currently talking about too much Yin energy in the air, and…" She paused here for a moment, and I could hear someone talking in the background. "And Galatea asked me to tell you that if she had her Plasma Disintegrators, she could've resolved the situation already. She also says 'wink-wink'."

"… In other words, the situation's under control, and nobody's particularly terrified. Roger," I concluded with a sigh. "Are you coming out?"

"Angeline left, but I think I'm going to keep soaking a while longer."

"Okay then. See you at lunch. Xoxo."

"Xoxo you too."

With that, she cut the line, though not before I could hear someone complaining about her not taking the situation seriously, and her responding with something about being mentally prepared. Anyhow, once we clarified things, I turned to the still posing little girl.

"The bad guy already left the area. You can go back to sleep now."

"Hm? Oh. Okay."

I was half-kidding, yet the moment she got permission, she crawled back onto the amused Gorgon Knight's lap, and a few seconds later, she was back to sleep. I might've once again looked just a tad incredulous, as she firmly told me, "Children need a lot of sleep to grow big and healthy."

"They sure do," I answered just a touch half-heartedly before I put my phone away and rolled my shoulders.

So, the Narrative's opening move was a hot springs peeper, huh? A very orthodox way to start things, so by no means unexpected, and I had to agree with my dear assistant. Being prepared for the tropes ahead of time, for once, I felt like we were on top of things. So long as we kept our cool and remained calm and analytical, we had everything under control. Or so I thought…

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