Part 10: Rosenking

I was half-tempted to go with a shittier pun. I still am, for that matter.



: ...the gigantic stuffed bear.

...He's a talking bear puppet with a stupid as hell name. Not every puppet is optional (though that was a given from Sharte); L here is the second mandatory puppet. You could argue third but since Kururu never gets added to the party with the cornet, I don't really count her in the same way.

: No way! You're a stuffed animal!
: Hey Cornet! I've got a brilliant idea... Why don't you enter the contest wearing this?
: Huh!?
: Come on! It'll stand out, and it's cute too! You'll be able to beat Etoile no problem!
: Contest!? Then you should definitely use me as your costume!
: If I must...
: Alrighty then we're set!
: Thank you very much. I thought I'd never get out of this dusty prison. I'll not be able to take the stage again!



: What are you worried about? It's going to be great! You'll see! Just trust me...
: Do you really think so? I'm not so sure about this...

So, L makes 6 party members. He's never getting used realistically; he joins at too low a level to be worthwhile, his stats are all awful (except for HP; he has way too much of that), and the only good thing about him is he lacks a weaknesses. Not because he lacks an element though.



Due to the way elements work here (mutual weaknesses!) Thunder ends up not being weak to anything. This also means that nothing is weak to Thunder. Kururu is strong enough to offset the innate neutrality of everything; L very definitely isn't.



On the way out, I picked this up. It does exactly what you think it does.



And, because I felt like being a moron for a short while, I went to train with L in the party so he can catch up with the rest. This was the only interesting thing that happened. Pressure Point is one of the best healing skills/spells; it removes all negative status ailments.





No matter what you actually choose here, you get into the castle anyway.



This is just the ground floor. The three rooms in the bottom left can't be accessed, and the rooms in the bottom right are technically on the first floor; they're just counted here, because... um... I'm not actually sure. They're accessed via a mezzanine in the entrance hall, so that might be why. All that matters, is that area is where a lot of the rest of the chapter takes place. And by "a lot," I mean "all."



Guard: ...passage to your right. The opening ceremonies will start soon, so please hurry.



Queen: As all of you may know, the contest this year is a special one. Today, our Prince will choose his bride to be! I believe social status has nothing to do with a woman's value. I would hope that Ferdinand chooses a woman with inner beauty and strength. Good luck to all of you.
: Wow...A woman's true value isn't based on her social status or looks, huh? She sure knows what she's talking about.
: Of course. She is the mother of the Prince, after all.
: Yeah, yeah. You're right.



Guard: In the first round, we will be judging you on DRESS. We will be judging you not by its cost or beauty. But, by how naturally you carry and express yourself in the dress.

Well, that's going to be useful. Etoile basically wasted her money and Cornet's "dress" being a giant bear doesn't actually matter, in theory at least.

: Alright! This round is as good as yours!!
: Do you really think so?
Guard: The second, is LEADERSHIP. Strong leadership abilities are essential qualities that a queen must possess. Say for example, if the king were incapacitated in some way the queen must be ready to over the army at a moment's notice to...



Yet another round that is pretty much in the bag it seems. This is way too unfairly balanced towards Cornet...

Guard: According to our Queen, the household is like a battlefield itself... Whatever that means... Good luck to you all!
: Kururu, what should I do? Did you hear what he said?
: Yeah... You stink at stuff like that...
Guard: Please, can I have your attention again for just a few more minutes? And the final round will consist of a singing competition. It is meant to be an expression of your true self through music. No matter what the lyrics are, we'll know if you're truly singing from the heart.

You didn't forget it was a musical, did you? This aspect was surely a given from the start.

Guard: This now concludes the judging criteria. The contest will begin in 15 minutes. Good luck!

Oh, and while I remember it hasn't been 2 days (in-game) since we signed up for this. Maybe an hour or two at most.



In the small room in the centre, this is the only person worth talking to. No one else says anything of worth, and at first glance this doesn't appear worthwhile either. It will be eventually.

Whereas, the rightmost small room...



: I have no intention of marrying the Prince. I can do whatever I want! Anyway, I'm not interested in marriage! Having a family doesn't mean anything! You and mother proved it!



: All you and Mother care about is money and status! Nothing else! You don't care about me! You want me to get married to the Prince so you can move up the social ladder! Well!? You've got another thing coming!



Took long enough for someone to do that.

Now, who wants to hear a lot of Etoile backstory?




Rosenqueen: ...I'm sorry you had to see this...
: I...It's alright. I'll be going now...
Rosenqueen: Cornet... what do you think about my daughter?
: Uh... She's...uh...well...
: She's a bloated, self-centered, egotistical maniac who cares only about money...
: Shut up! Kururu!!
Rosenqueen: Ha ha ha... Cornet, you're such a nice girl. You don't have to lie for her. I think she is bloated, and selfish. But... She wasn't always like this. That was until she was about 5 years old. My business was expanding and my wife and I were so caught up in social functions that we were not home for Etoile as much as we would have liked to be. To make up for that, we started to give Etoile money...
: What kind of dough are we talkin' about here, pops?



Rosenqueen: ...everything, even for her emotional needs. I want to make things right between us, but I just don't understand her anymore.
: She depended on money for everything... That's pretty sad... Oops! I'm sorry.
Rosenqueen: The funny thing is... she's been getting along with you all this time.
: ......I'm not so sure about that getting along part.
Rosenqueen: Cornet, please take good care of her for me.
: Uh...Yeah sure.
Rosenqueen: Thank you. If there's anyone who can reach Etoile, it's you. Good luck!
: Thank you, Mr. Rosenqueen.



: Yeah. Father... I wonder what kind of person my father was.

That's something to worry about another time.

Next time: the duel that everyone's been waiting for!