Irinora Quest (Oneshot)

>Engage serious mode and press for details.

>Engage serious mode and press for details.

After that, thank Hiro for bringing the matter directly to you, and that you appreciate that he didn't go over your head to your father.

This is no time to be lounging around. In an instant, you are up in Hiro’s face, mouth tight and eyes sharp. “Fill me in the details.” You order, as you spin on your heel and begin marching towards the royal vault. Hiro and Elisa are quick to follow.

You have little love in the crown itself. It is merely a piece of very expensive metal, worn twice a year in formal ceremonies. You couldn’t care less if it was lost or melted into slurry. No, what you are more concerned about is the theft itself. It is a crime against the royal family and an insult against your pride as the Third Princess. You will reclaim your crown, find the perpetrator and make a example. Let the kingdom know that the royal family is not to be trifled with.

“The crown’s disappearance was discovered twenty minutes ago.” Elisa reports, pulling out a sheet of parchment. “Apparently, the thief used illusion magic to conceal its absence. The vault guardians only discovered it through inspecting the case directly.”

“The case is broken, too.” Hiro adds, all trace of anger vanishing from his voice. “Guess we can rule out direct teleportation as a method. Whoever stole it isn’t very sophisticated.”

“Just like you.” Elisa mumbles under her breath, before resuming her report. “Signs point to the thief smashing the case, taking the crown and running away. It’s believe he or she may have disguised himself as one of the royal servants to make the escape.”

“Or one of the royal family.” Hiro mutters.

Elisa shoots him a filthy look. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She hisses. “No sane demon would ever dare to disguise as one of the royal family. They’d be beset upon by the person’s peerage within seconds.”

“And no sane commoner, not even palace guards, would try to seal mistress’s crown. They’d never be able to sell it. Nobody would dare to buy it.” Hiro rebuts, massaging his forehead. A headache is pulsing through his forehead. “So where does that leave us? Feud between the members of the royal family? Theft from a rival peerage?”

You shake your head. “I do not believe so.” Your mother, the empress of Makai who has ruled for almost a millennium, explicitly stated around the previous century that all past grudges between her children were to be buried, yourself included. Since then, you have tried to make amends and remain amicable around your brothers and sisters. Many fine days have been spent on private meals and sightseeing tours together around the kingdom. It has worked…for the most part.

“Mother loves her trinkets. If you recall, she commissioned my crown herself.” You explain. “Stealing it would risk her wrath, and nobody would be foolish enough to contemplate that.”

“You never know, mistress.” Hiro sighs. “No offence, but some of your brothers and sisters aren’t exactly the most rational of demons.”

“None taken, Hiro.” You say, “By the way, I appreciate that you and Elisa brought the matter to me directly, instead of going straight to Mother.”

He nods. “I’m only doing my job, mistress.”

“There’s also the issue of how the thief broken in.” Elisa ponders. “No-one is allowed to open the vault except for its caretakers and members of the royal family. We’ve questioned all the caretakers and all of them claim to have an alibi.” Her face darkens. It is clear she is just as furious as you are. “Further ‘questioning’ may be needed…”

So it sounds like the thief is some bizarre hybrid of genius and incompetent. Smart enough to get into and out of the vault unnoticed while leaving a convincing illusion behind, but not smart to get past a locked case. Together with them performing such an audacious and impractical heist and my guess here is that it's probably not something political. Instead I'm thinking it's some young and arrogant devil who thinks themselves to be a "dashing rogue" or some such, who stole it just to prove they could.

You and your servants arrive at the vault. The large ornate doors loom in front of you, a crack of light passing between the two. Around it, guards stiffen in their spots and try not to look at you in the eye. The collective fear in the air is so high-strung you could fashion it as piano wire. You ignore them and step into the vault.

A bath of light reflected from glittering jewels and polished gold assaults you the moment you enter. Trophies from Makai’s victories, accomplishments and celebrations are positioned in neat transparent cases. Portraits of past royal members, commissioned from exemplary artists in their day, adorn the walls. Some distance ahead is the collection of royal crowns. A few are yet to be worn by their owners. You remember that as a child you would spend hours in here, gazing up at the priceless treasures and forming adventures in your head.

This is no time to be reminiscing about your innocent days, so you move on.

Like an ugly blemish on a piece of fine art, a broken case lies amidst the treasure. Shards of it are littered across the floor. You know, as does everyone else in the room, that the cases are laid with traps to prevent greedy thieves from getting their hands on the content. Not to mention, they are reinforced with magic to resist all forms of attacks. It makes the disappearance of your crown even more puzzling.

“Oh, mistress, you’ve arrived.” Some of your peerage are gathered around the area, taking notes, inspecting the crime scene or generally wasting their time talking to one another. A young man with rough brown hair and a matching tie steps forward. “I trust Elisa and Hiro have told you everything we’ve found out.”

“They have, Damiel.” You say. “Have you found anything else?”

He hesitates a bit and nods. “We found a note attached to the back of the case’s pillar. Except…”

“What is the problem?” You demand.

“It's a bit weird. Mistress, I think you should see it for yourself.” Damiel hands you the object.

>>Irinora: Read the note.

>Dear Princess Irinora Agares Lucifuge—Silver Queen, Archducchess of the Almighty, The Fourth Daughter, Mistress of Song, Heir of the Grey, Envoy of the Good Devils and top contender for stupidest member of the royal family,

>This is a letter from your soon-to-be worst enemy, the great and wondrous Prince of Darkness. There are a great deal things I imagined saying to you. Your horrendous taste in fashion. The way you force everyone to obey curfew. The fact that you put limits on how many cups of ice-cream one can eat. Where do you get off ordering the chef to put broccoli and carrots in the stew anyway? The list I made went on and on. The words were going to be severe and the consequences would’ve been terrible.

>Then I realized I could do more damage by stealing your crown, so I did that. As you are well aware, the crown was blessed and bestowed to you by your mother, the ruler of the kingdom herself. It is carved with gold straight from the treasure horde of dragons, studded with thousand-carat diamonds born from the hearts of fire basilisks, emblazoned with the crest of the royal family and contains a bunch of other details I can’t be bothered to remember. Never mind; a treasure worth millions of gold ingots is no doubt important to you and your status as the Third Princess is in danger due to its absence!

>Unlike you and your tyrannical behaviors, I am a merciful man. I shall give you a chance to take it back. There is one condition: you must defeat me in a honorable, one-on-one duel. No sneak attacks, no preparation time—we step into the ring and fight to the death like true demonic warriors! I will wager the crown, you will wage your life. It shall be a duel that the bards in the court will sing of for generations. They will be about us. But mostly your demise!

>The arena shall be in the middle of the old city, in ruins of the old palace. The time will be when the clock first strikes to herald the beginning of sunset. Princess Irinora Agares Lucifuge, if you are the woman that I think you are, you will drop everything to make preparations for our time together. I dearly look forward to it…

>Ha ha ha. HA HA HA. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAAAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAA!

>Yours sincerely, the Prince of Darkness.

>P.S. Also, you smell.

“…and that’s all that was written.” Damiel finishes. “What do you think, mistress?”

What a good question. Your reaction is…

>To clench your fist in rage.
>A coquettish giggle.
>A disapproving sigh.
>A brief shrug of your shoulders.
>Pretty much nothing at all.
>Custom option.

>A disapproving sigh.
So, Laharl? Is that who we're fighting?

>>A disapproving sigh.