Dog Days Quest Episode 112

>There is Gallete Royalty at the castle, go casually talk with them.

>There is Gallete Royalty at the castle, go casually talk with them.

>Bring the idea up to Aligot and see how he responds.
Why is it such fun to bully Aligot?

>There is Gallete Royalty at the castle, go casually talk with them.
There is Gallete Royalty at the castle, go casually talk with them.

That's when you remember something.

There ARE Gallete royalty staying at the castle.

Like, for instance, that archmage. There's also some of the lords and ladies who are staying. You don't know much about them, but they seem like a great place to start asking some of the things that you found out.

You're sure just mentioning a few facts that you're aware of would be enough to at least let you know if someone is hiding something. Or maybe you can get some of them to try paying you off to stay quiet. Either way, it would be all the evidence you would need to puffball them and use them as a teastand.

Okay! It's a plan. You know just where to start, too.

You walk past the maids and the butlers, and toward the library.

--

"Excuse me." You don't even bother waiting until she has looked up from her book. "Can we talk?"

Gougere, the Gallete archmage, sits at her little table in the library. Until Gallete's library is in working order again, this is where she'll be seated.

Which is why you don't really suspect her, but she's a good lead if you want to ask some tough questions about some awful cats.

"Yuuki? Sure. Did something happen?"

Oh, you could share with her some stories, but you won't. You'll let Charlotte tell her.

"-I need to ask some questions to some of the Gallete nobility. Do you know who I can talk to?"

"Mm, That's going to be tough, right now." Gougere puts her book down, "A bunch of them are trying to form new political parties following last night. They want to seize control of enforcement from Charlotte, which is something Gallete's code of law allows if they feel a ruler doesn't have proper authority."

>Too bad, start listing names.
>Oh fine, how SHOULD I go about it?
>..Am I going to need to drink like Jack for this one?
>I'm not playing politics.
>Other?

>..Am I going to need to drink like Jack for this one?

>Oh fine, how SHOULD I go about it?
>..Am I going to need to drink like Jack for this one?

And the answer to the later is yes. There is not a single situation where following the example set by Jack could possibly be a bad idea.

>..Am I going to need to drink like Jack for this one?

>Oh fine, how SHOULD I go about it?
>..Am I going to need to drink like Jack for this one?

>..Am I going to need to drink like Jack for this one?
>Oh fine, how SHOULD I go about it?

Writing!

This. He's the expert, really.

You groan.
"Am I going to have to drink like Jack for this one?"

"Oh, no no! It's not that bad. but-"

Gougere adjusts her glasses, eyeing you up and down.
"Lose the dress."

Oh yeah, you're going to need several bottles for this one.

"Lose WHAT?"
"The dress. You want answers from the nobles and the rich folk, right? Well, Gallete is complicated. For one, you're a woman so they aren't going to respect you anyway. Two, your dress makes you look like a-"

She stops herself, noticing your face actively get redder.
"-It's just not very professional, is all? Get a flowing dress, kind of like the one you see Tuile and Charlotte wear. Don't dress like a maid, though. Maids are viewed as lower than dirt."

"I don't like this idea."

"Well, you have to change the way you look so you can at least blend in with the crowd. Right now, you're very clearly not from Gallete, don't belong with them, and aren't really the political type. So you just gotta pretend, after all."

"Can I make them talk with this?" You let your naginata gleam in the light.
"..Only if you want them to wet themselves. If you want answers, you're going to have to play the game just a little."

"Is that all?" You mumble.
"Riight, another thing. You might want to change that attitude some." Gougere's hand in on her chin, "Being a woman is one thing, but acting like one is different. You'll be taken more seriously if you act like one instead of-"

She stops herself again.
You wonder if the bar here stocks sake.

>Okay, FINE. I'll get dressed and tone down the attitude.
>No deal. They can like it or get stabbed.
>Who do I talk to, then?
>This is hard, can I get someone to just come along with me?
>Other?

>No deal. They can like it or get stabbed.

>Okay, FINE. I'll get dressed and tone down the attitude.

What a minute. What does the dress make her look like? Is Yuuki gonna have to smack a cat?

>find some guy's clothes, if you don't look like a woman, you won't have to act as one!

Reverse traps? Reverse traps.

Is this a vote? I'm not sure.

i think it is.

If anybody says that we aren't a man, just wave around our weapon.

>find some guy's clothes, if you don't look like a woman, you won't have to act as one!

Writing HOW DID IT GET SO LATE? I meant for this to be a one-thread yuuki-fix. Not another three-four thread adventure.

Okay. Okay. Writing!

I warned you about the side plots bro! I told you, dog!

This is so frustrating!

"You mean I have to change the way I talk, change the way I dress, and even the way I act within the span of the next few minutes just to even have an audience with them?!"
"Well, that's correct."
"And I don't even get to really ask the questions I want to, because I'm a woman."
"-More like because you aren't Gallete royalty, but that's part of it, yes."

"This is STUPID! All I wanted to do was ask some questions. Do I need to write a poem for them, before I do so?"

"I know your frustration, Yuuki." Gougere adjusts her glasses, "Heck, Felice has wanted to advance in the knights ranking for a while, but she's just viewed as a dumb bimbo because of how girly she looks. She's by far the strongest knight, too."

"Really? So Girly is the problem, right?"
"Well, sort-of. Girlishness is viewed as-"

You reach behind you, into your kimono. Your hands grasp the wrapping constraining your girlish parts. With a grunt, you pull.

The figure of your chest depresses. It hurts, but you can easily pass as muscular.

Gougere isn't buying it, though.
"There isn't enough pulling in the world-"
"Okay! But what else?" You grasp your hair and tie it into a bobtail.

"Well, also the spear. Spears are peasant weapons. Spears are what farmers use, and-"
"It's not a spear!" You pout, and then you show her a cool trick Fritelli showed you.

Concentrating some, you reach into the confines of your magic ring. With a hoist, you pull out a fine-edged, slender blade.
"-And I'm good with swords!"

"Well, you pass as some kind of girlish man from a foreign land." Gougere strokes her chin. "You still don't look like a Gallete warrior.

..That gives you an idea!

--

"Fritelli!"

The quartermaster peeks from around the corner.

"I need the biggest, manliest armor you got!" You clench your fists.

"You need what?" Fritelli blinks.

"The biggest! Largest! Huge!" You wave your hands in the air.

--

"No! Bigger than that! You can still see my bust!"

>Cont.

>"The biggest! Largest! Huge!"
>"No! Bigger than that! You can still see my bust!"
Oh, this is gonna be a treat.

>"No! Bigger than that! You can still see my bust!"
Just how stacked is Yuuki again?

Hello,
Guess whose internet is randomly falling out, which means I may not be able to continue tonight?

Somewhere between "big" and "enough".

Is she the bustiest woman Jack regularly interacts with?

"-And that brings me back to my original point." A cat-eared man daintily swirls the teal-colored ichor in his wine glass. Gently, his pinky extends from the foot of the cup. "It's not best for Gallete to be violently cowtowed by a brutish dictator. It's bad enough our humble kind has been displaced from our homes, must we be displaced from our decency?"

"Hear hear."
"A toast!"

The cat-heared fop gently raises the glass to his lips, sipping only the tiniest bit of foam from the rim.

"Alphie, you staunch rogue." Another well-dressed man in a bow-tie and black uniform muses. "Where DO you get that naughty tongue from? I must say, I almost mistaken you for a blasphemous sailor."

"Mmhmm, it's a fortune of mine." He sits back at the bar, "I get that wild side from my grand-uncle you know. He was a fighting man."

"Why, I am just DYING to hear how-"

BANG.

With a clomp, the doors fling open.

Many are unsure how to describe the thing that steps through. Maybe a demon. Maybe a knight. Maybe some poor soul dragged through time from the height of the Belkan wars.
One thing is for certain:
He's wearing a yellow rose on his armor, so he must have been invited.

The entrance is grand enough, and even to the point where they don't notice you struggling to adjust and fit the giant iron slabs onto your much-too-womanly figure.
Plus, the heat. You didn't realize it when you first put this on, but it heats up FAST.

Fritelli did warn you. She told you this was ceremonial armor that wasn't really balanced at all, but you went with it anyway.

At the very least; you're certain there isn't a single person here who will accuse you of being a woman.

>Try not to cause a disturbance.
>Mingle, pretend to be a hot-shot up-and-coming general.
>Threaten.
>Drink. (That's what manly men do, right? Your only metric for this is Jack).
>You remember being told a keyword for the mole network. See if anyone responds to that keyword.
>Other?

>Drink. (That's what manly men do, right? Your only metric for this is Jack).
>Mingle, pretend to be a hot-shot up-and-coming general.

Not quite. Madeleine has her beat in pure size simply because Madeleine is taller (longer?). Gougere is out-of-shape and is fatter because of it.

But in pure height-to-bust ratio. Yuuki is the bustiest. She's also probably one of the most muscular girls the quest.Too bad I don't really have an image to show Yuuki's crossroad between muscles, bust, and butt.

>Drink. (That's what manly men do, right? Your only metric for this is Jack).
>You remember being told a keyword for the mole network. See if anyone responds to that keyword.

Everyone, my connection has slowed to the point where I am disconnecting every few seconds. That's my luck for you.

So. Two choices. We end it now and I try to run a bonus thread later in the week.

Or

We keep it alive and I try to finish the side-plot tomorrow

What say you?

I KNOW, I KNOW. IT KEEPS HAPPENING

Let me know what you think. Either way, I think it's

>Thread Pause

For now, anyway. It's late and I have work in the morning.

Thanks for the thread.
Looking forward to drunken Yuuki's investigation. She's a loose cannon, but she a damn good hero. Even if all the nobles have to end up puffballed in the process. Especially all the nobles have to end up puffballed in the process.

try to continue tomorrow!
i'm enjoying this way too much

>Drink. (That's what manly men do, right? Your only metric for this is Jack).
>You remember being told a keyword for the mole network. See if anyone responds to that keyword.
>Remember to speak in a deep voice

Should really just try to continue. Not much sense in making two short threads if one longer thread will do.

please do try to continue tomorrow. I'm just sad I missed the thread.

bump

So who is the flattest within 4 years of Jack's age?

How old is he again?

Writing continues.

That's a tough one, Jack is several years older than Atsuko. Maybe a couple years older than Tuile. He's in his early 20's.

So it would go Fritelli (B), Atsuko (A), Noel (A), Felice (B)

Didn't say that right, meant to say:
Atsuko (A), Noel (A), Felice (B), Fritelli (B)
In that order

Next post done soon!

The crowd of well-dressed fops and yes-men part as you slowly maneuver the massive iron body. Each one of them well aware that the sheer momentum involved with keeping the metal husk aloft would crush them in an instant.

It's a good feeling, in a way.

You lumber over to the bar and sit at one of the stools. There's a silence in the room as the wooden seat creaks and strains under the steel frame's weight.

After several minutes of silence, the room starts to spring back to life. The limp-wristed crowd quickly trying to take attention off the monstrous knight at the bar.

"What'cha havin, sir?"
The barman immediately abandons the side of the bar to rush to your service.

"Oh, uh-" Damn! You almost used your normal voice. You need to deepen the pitch, and focus on whispering. The echo from inside the armor adds a nice touch.

Not to mention, 'What'cha havin'? You didn't quite think this through. Do they have sake? No, no; that's not what a man would have.

What's that drink Jack was showing you the other night?

"Brandy." Ha! Yes! You remembered it.
Jack drinks that stuff like water. So it can't be too strong, right?

During the interrogation earlier, the prisoner admitted to some types of tells as to how to identify fellow members of the network. There's a tell, a phrase, and a keyword. Supposedly, someone who hears the keyword should respond with the phrase. So much so, that the prisoners were responding with the phrase when they heard the keyword between themselves.

That is some intensive conditioning, to cause that.

You lean over the bar, and toward the barman. He's a good test subject.
"A big guy." You mutter.

He eyes you with confusion, and then places your drink on the table.

You bring it to the metal clasp on your helmet, and then tip the drink back. Wow, that is burning.

>Keep asking around
>Keep drinking, you need courage.
>Start trying to talk to people.
>Other?

>Keep drinking, you need courage.
then
>Start trying to talk to people.

>Atsuko (A)
Fertility power at critically low level, someone help the poor girl.

>Keep drinking, you need courage.

Need to start talking to people!

>Keep drinking, you need courage.

>Keep drinking, you need courage!
>Start talking to people.

Great idea!
Writing!

Someone will help her with that. Someday. eventually. maybe.

How you doing, Announcer?

Work got in the way.

Finishing up this post!

Okay, so the barman didn't take to it.
..That's to be expected, now that you think about it. He's one of the castle's barmen. So he's probably been suspected and investigated once already.

Your nerves are shot, you're not great at this interrogation thing at all. You can slice people to ribbons, but that's not really interrogation.
Why was Jack so good at it? What did he used to do before coming here?

Okay, you know the answer to that. It's the same thing he does every day.

Drink.

You pick up the tiny cup in front of you, and- Why is this in such a tiny cup? It might just appear smaller because of the armor.
With a single gulp, the drink spills down your throat. Yuck, that will never taste good.

Then-
Huh, you just had some strange difficulty turning your head. Like, your vision moved, but the feeling of how your head was turned stayed in the same place for a few moments.
It's probably just the feeling of the armor weighing down on your neck.

So, that aside, it's time to ask some more of these rascals what they may be up to.

Slowly, you lean over to the guy next to you.
"Hey, what'cha do 'round here." Huh, didn't mean to roll that r.

"Mm, Me?" A foppish cat with his hair dyed an unnatural pink-and-white swirl. You blink twice trying to understand what life decisions brought him to paint it that way. "Well I'M the assistant-director's uncle's nephew of the Gallete bank. Finest gold-repository in the union, if I say so myself. What may I call you?"

>Lord General-
>General-
>Uh-
>I don't have a good name for this, what's a good manly name?
>Tom?
>Barry?
>Other?

Lord General Bartholomeo

sound fine. Kinda aims high with the title, but if you're going to lie you might as well go big.

this:

So if anybody asks, which kingdom are we a part of?

>Lord General Bartholomeo

Okay! Fair enough, Bort!

That's another good question you may want to debate amongst yourselves while I write!

Writing!

What, you DON'T know who Lord General Bartolomeo is?
Are you sure you deserve to be at this party, my good fellow?

Dog land?

Do we know the current general sentiments towards Biscotti around here?

What other place would you suggest?

How about bear land?

Still here.

I am driving home and hit some traffic. So expect next post to be a tad delayed.

Good luck with traffic announcer.

Hope nothing bad happened to Announcer...

Writing continues!

Ah welcome back Announcer!
Hope the traffic wasn't too bad.

so, something's happened to Announcer?

"Lord General Bartholomeo." You grunt. Ugh, this is going to destroy your voice before the day is over.

"Ah yes, um."

He blinks, eying your armor.

"-Er, may I ask what nation you happen to be a general of?"

You try to quickly think of a response, but then you realize that you don't really need one.
"Isn't it obvious?"

He tries to think of a counter-retort to that. Instead, he takes the smart road and just laughs.
"Ohoho! That's a good one General! Welcome to the party. It's a shame we couldn't have invited you to our more extravagant abode in Gallete. We've been busy redecorating."

"Yes, redecorating must be hard." You reply, your voice as dry as the liquor in your hand.

Hey, when did you start drinking again? You don't remember picking this up. Well, that's probably not important.

"Mm, so do you use a sword as well as you look?"

"I'm.. pretty good with one." You try to think of a way to deflect this question, "Some tell me I'm a pretty Big Guy for one."

He keeps that stupid, creepy smile fixated on your visor.

"I said," you try to repeat yourself, "-Some say I'm a pretty Big Guy for a sword."

"Mmmm, I bet you are." He smiles in a REALLY REALLY REALLY uncomfortable manner. "Do you have anything else that's big? Oh, maybe you're offering to show me your big sword?"

What the hell is wrong with this guy?

"(Psst)." The barman grabs your attention, you turn your head to take the drink he is offering. The tie-dye fop starts gently sipping at the rim of his wine. He blows tiny bubbles into the edge of his liquor.

The barman noisily slides your drink over toward you, letting the bottom of the cup catch every scuff and scratch along the way.
"(He's flirting with you)." He whispers, the sound of the sliding glass turning that quip into a private one.

>Wait he's WHAT? How does he know?!
>I thought I looked like a big guy!
>I'm gonna puffball someone.
>I don't get it!
>WellThisWasFunGottaRun
>Go find someone else to talk to
>Other?

Heh, before we leave everyone'sgonna talk about how dependable that general Bartholomeo is.
No one will dare say they don't recognize him!

>>Go find someone else to talk to

>Go find someone else to talk to
Yuuki should turn her GayDar on

Yeah, agreed.

>WellThisWasFunGottaRun
>Go find someone else to talk to

>Hey, when did you start drinking again?
Oh yes, this won't end well at all.

Okay, back.

>Find someone else to talk to

Writing!

Welcome back Announcer

Have we determined if Yuuki is straight or not?

Yuuki at least seems interested in guys judging by that marriage thing we went though where she seemed interested.

She was interested in Jack, but also seems a little interested in her Princess from way back when.

Everyone's into Jack, so that might not be the best indicator.

Is Jack in some way related to Rance?

The benefits of being the protagonist

He was flirting with me?! How? I'm in disguise! How did he figure out that I'm a-

Unless he thinks-

Ohh. Oh you're going to need that drink.

You stand up, and- Woh.
That was strange.

It's like you stood up, and the entire world tilted with you.

It's... It's probably just the armor. You move a hunk of iron off of your bust and continue walking.
One foot-
In front of the other.

One foot- Hey, why are you having to tell yourself this?

Huh, you have the glass from the bar in-hand. Carefully, you set it down onto a nearby table and continue your trek toward a couple of suspicious looking cats.

Of course, all of them immediately quiet down when they notice you standing next to them.

"Uh, can we help you sir-"

"General." You reply in your stoic manner. "Lord Genernrhgn Barthomeoph."

Wait, that didn't sound right.

You adjust your voice and try again, "Lord GENERAL Barthomeoph."
There, that sounded a bit better.

"Mm, Barthomeoph." Someone wearing, what appears to be the skin of an animal on the center of their head. It's covering a bald spot. Is it a hat? Or, does he think that's what human hair looks like? "I'm sure something brings you to us, is there something you wish to declare?"

"Yes, yes there is." You try to think of an elegant way to ask this.
Though, for reasons unknown, you find a fog covering your mind.

"Are you a big man?" Is the best you can manage.

Thinking back on it, and thinking back on the behavior of the previous patron; you really wish you didn't just ask that right now.

"For you." One of the fops turns his attention, before raising his glass.

"Ah ha."
"Mm, interesting." The one with the dead animal on his forehead raises his glass in kind, "You must be the one we were expecting."

>Go along with this.
>Time for Puffballs.
>Lead them away from the party.
>Stay silent.
>Other?

>Go along with this.

Our bst bet, yeah.
But don't drink too much, we need yuuki sober so she doesn't fuck it up when it's puffball time.

>Go along with this.
Going medieval on them right now would be more detrimental to Yuuki than them.

>Go along with this.

>Go along with this.

Good idea!

WRiting!

Seems we picked the right option?

This is it, these are the guys.

You're gonna-

Woh, wait. Your head suddenly feels light.
Your eyes, you're not sure how to describe the feeling. Like they're looking down a tunnel?

Strange.

Your body does have a good point, though. You shouldn't wreck them just yet. They might have some valuable information that would be lost if you didn't get just a little deeper into this.

Maybe if you play along, keep and eye on these spies, and try not to vomit; you can get even more information!

This is going even better than you expected!

R-urgh. Uh. What were you doing again?
Oh, right! Better than you expected!

There's no way this can fail!

"So, What'sz my job in all this?" Huh, someone else spoke with your voice. Oh! They're looking at you.

"Mmhmm, the plan isn't important to you, Bartholomeo."

Darn, of course this wouldn't be easy.

"What is important, is that this starts the first meeting of the true revolutionaries of Gallete."
"Hear hear!"
"A toast!"

Oh, where did you get that glass? And why are you drinking it? Oh well, probably not important.

"Mm, it's time for the real intellectuals to step up." The one with the dead-skin cap muses. "It's just such a shame it had to happen so close to that dumb butler trying to take it for himself."
"Good riddens to him, I say." The quit one drinks, "Revolution is one thing, treason is another."
"He deserved it, really." the other one takes a sip, "What kind of Gallete butler would try to harm a princess? Our cultural rebellion is going to be stained by his brash decisions at that rate."

"Oh, right." The balding man and his balding cat-ears reaches into his coat. From within, he takes out an orange-studded ring. "Put this on, Bartholomeo, this is how we can talk without prying ears."

>Wait are you saying you didn't have anything to do at all with the Butler thing?
>No, that's a little too obvious.
>Just put on the ring and see what happens.
>..You'll put it on later.
>Other?

I don't wanna put the ring on...

>>Just put on the ring and see what happens.

ADVENTURE!

>Just put on the ring and see what happens.
We can't exactly back out without raising suspicions at this point.

Can the ring even fit on our armored hand?