Unworked Pride/Diamant: Rising Power

Diamant: Rising Power - C

Diamant	Ah, there’s a familiar face. It’s good to see you again, Prince Alfred.
Likewise, Prince Diamant! Say, you getting to grips with everything here?		Alfred
Diamant	Hrm, yes and no. The battles are certainly difficult, but I’m used to that from Elyos. What I find harder to wrap my head around are the Order of Heroes’ unusual tactics.
Sounds like you’re pretty focused on the battles, when that’s only one part of this whole deal. Maybe you should stop thinking about fighting and try watching the other Heroes go about their lives.		Alfred
Diamant	Hm, all right...
No fair, Lord Xander! I wasn’t finished shopping. I never found a knife that was sharp enough...		Peri
Laslow	Forgive me, my lord. I may have gotten, erm, caught up in conversation with the local ladies...
Enough distractions, both of you. Our next battle is fast approaching, and I expect you to focus.		Xander
Alfred	Those three, they’re from a place called Nohr. A prince and his retainers. In Nohr, it’s custom for a lord to have two retainers, if that sounds familiar at all.
The prince sounded almost like a parent telling off two naughty children.		Diamant
Alfred	Totally! Even though he’s mad, you can see he really cares about them.
Right...		Diamant
Alfred	Something the matter?
I’m just thinking about Amber and Jade. It feels...wrong not having them around.		Diamant
Alfred	I’m sure they’ll be here soon! For now, you can use the alone time to get some training in!
Ha, I knew you would say that. I suppose the physical activity could help take my mind off things... I think I’ll take your advice and do some training. But let’s talk soon.		Diamant
Alfred	So, that was Diamant’s vulnerable side. Who knew he had one? Can’t say I’ve ever seen him that gloomy. I wonder if there’s some way to cheer him up...

Diamant: Rising Power - B

Alfred	Great news, Prince Diamant! I found you some new retainers! I know you’ve been missing Amber and Jade, and I figured these replacements might fill the void.
Prince Alfred, I didn’t ask you to find replacements.		Diamant
Alfred	Didn’t need to. That lonely look on your face said it all. Introducing your new retainers: Prince Alfonse and Princess Sharena!
Erm, greetings.		Alfonse
Sharena	Hello there! We heard someone needed a little company!
Well, no, but—yes, but...hold on. Aren’t you two royalty? How can you be retainers?		Diamant
Alfred	Princess Sharena’s a real problem solver. Starting out here, I had a hard time, and she helped loads. So I told her about your situation, and she came up with this! Pretty smart plan, huh?
You’re too kind, Prince Alfred. Let’s not talk about how smart this plan is until after it works! Now then, Prince Diamant... Or should I say Lord Diamant? What’s your stance on “milord”? Anyway, while I think of myself as a friend to all Heroes, I’ve never served as a retainer before. It may be unusual, but I think there’s potential for it to be rather fun.		Sharena
Alfonse	I’m just here because we were told you had to have two.
And Commander Anna is busy trying to raise money.		Sharena
Diamant	I appreciate the gesture, but I just don’t think this makes sense. You two are the heart of this kingdom. You shouldn’t endanger yourselves to protect a prince from another realm. I may sound like my brother when I say this, but I’m not worth the risk.
What if we say this little arrangement only applies outside of combat? You keep going solo in battle. You can agree to that, right?		Alfred
Diamant	That would negate my main concern...
It’s settled, then! We are at your service, milord. Right, Alfonse?		Sharena
Alfonse	...Yes, Milord.
This might take some getting used to.		Diamant

Diamant: Rising Power - A

Sharena	Ready, Alfonse? Our first day as Lord Diamant’s retainers! Let’s kick things off by raising a cheer to our fearless leader. Dia! Dia!
...Mant?		Diamant
Alfonse	Stirring. And now that the cheer raising is over with, what do we do now?
Oh, um, that was all I had planned. Should I have thought of more? This may surprise you, but I don’t actually know that this role entails!		Sharena
Diamant	You don’t say.
The task from Prince Alfred was to fill in for Lord Diamant’s original retainers. To do that, perhaps we should learn more about how they might act.		Alfonse
Sharena	Brilliant thinking, Alfonse! Let’s sit down for a chat. I’ll pour the tea. If you please, milord, would you tell us about your retainers back home?
I suppose it can’t hurt. The first was a knight named Jade who always went into battle in a huge suit of armor. Even in the midst of combat, she had a serene presence. And when she wasn’t fighting, she wrote books. One of her works, “The Adventures of Amber, the Deliberate Dummy,” even became a best seller.		Diamant
Sharena	“The Deliberate Dummy”?
It’s already had four sequels, in fact, and demand for the series remains strong as ever. That brings me to my second retainer, Amber. His heroics were unmatched, if sometimes ill-advised. He could hardly go anywhere without getting into some sort of trouble I’d have to get him out of.		Diamant
Sharena	Oh, I see. “The Deliberate Dummy.”
We may have bitten off more than we can chew here, Sharena.		Alfonse
Sharena	Huh? What do you mean?
One of them fills his head with stories, while another pulls him into cockamamie escapades? With those two at his side, he must have constant diversions each and every day! If we want to have any hope of replacing them, we have to keep him entertained and on his toes.		Alfonse
Sharena	I never thought about my retainers’ role like that, but that’s actually quite perceptive.
Lord Diamant, might I request a recess to gather information? I have a few solutions in mind.		Alfonse
Diamant	Sure. Though, don’t go out of your way for my sake.
As a representative of the Order of Heroes, it is my duty to go out of my way!		Alfonse
Sharena	Why is Alfonse suddenly the one taking this more seriously?

Diamant: Rising Power - S

Sharena	Lord Diamant, I’ve got a surprise for you. A short story, penned by Sharena the Scribe!
You write fiction?		Diamant
Sharena	I do now! Alfonse and I had a talk about how we could best serve as your acting retainers. We decided I should try to write you a short story, like Jade!
That’s very thoughtful. Now, let’s see... So, it starts with you picking fruit with 【Summoner】. Then you picked some chestnuts together... Hm. I like the prose, but it almost reads like a diary.		Diamant
Sharena	I was afraid it might. Using your imagination is harder than it sounds! I tried starting with reality as a jumping-off point, but I never found the right place to jump off...
Urgh, Lord Diamant...		Alfonse
Sharena	Alfonse, what happened?! You’re caked in mud! Was it an ambush?
No, I... I dug a ditch, and then I threw myself in the ditch.		Alfonse
Diamant	Come again?
Realizing I had no hope of emulating Amber’s talent for unwitting chaos, I decided to cause intentional chaos. I dug a ditch and dove into it, hoping to make a scene. And this plan worked all too well. Onlookers rushed to my aid, and I had to awkwardly explain it...		Alfonse
Sharena	Poor thing! It was a good effort, at least...
Aha...ha...		Diamant
Sharena	Lord Diamant?
Ahahahaha! My sides... I can’t take it. You both are too funny! The diary, the ditch—it’s all completely ridiculous! I haven’t laughed this hard in ages.		Diamant
Sharena	So that means...we did a good job imitating your retainers!
In your own unique ways, yes, though you’re far from exact copies.		Diamant
Alfonse	My apologies. I suppose it was folly for us to try imitating them.
No, you did well enough. I’m feeling much less lonely. But that’s not because you replaced my retainers, or anything like that. I’m just glad knowing I have two friends who would go to those lengths to make me smile. So, thank you, both of you.		Diamant
Alfonse	It was our pleasure, Lord Diamant. No—back to Prince Diamant, I think. And may I say, we will be happy to see you reunited with Amber and Jade when they do finally arrive.
Well, it looks like the plan worked! I’m almost going to miss being your retainer, Prince Diamant... But being your friend is even better!		Sharena

Scenario
← Chloé		Alcryst →
Unworked Pride
Diamant	Lapis	Alcryst	Citrinne

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