Chapter 159: Banter (P2)

It all comes back to the damned Wolf, doesn't it? 

Admittedly, it's the Wolf's powers that have gotten me this far and the reason I'm alive to lament these problems. Namely the budding hunger I feel crawling and creeping around the corner and recesses of my mind.

I've got to find sometime to pay a visit to Frozia so I can kill the Gamma I left there. Though I would much prefer to ask Lotar what the big idea is on the hunger I'm feeling, the Wolf Deity seems to be unavailable or deliberately ignoring me.

With Frozia covered in snow and saturated in the Goddess' presence, I could technically teleport there and get the deal with the hunger over, but the piling issues in concern with my control over Aste force my personal attention.

Since Aste isn't covered in snow, it would still take some time before I got back to Aste from my instantaneous trip to Frozia. It's best I tough it out in the meantime, at least, until Aren wakes up.

Since Maylin gave him medical attention the man has yet to wake up from whatever Serue inflicted upon him. From what I heard Maylin muttering to Kaylin, it's some kind of illusion that's trapping him within his own mind.

Of course, this is concerning. Not just because I care about Aren, but because he could have some valuable information on Serue given the time spent holed up in the Palace.

Aren also has a much larger part to play in much of this. For all the time I'm under pact with Lotar, I can't stay idle in a single place for extended periods of time. Else I'm left to swim in uncomfortable situations like this where I have to tough it out with the Hunger before I move anywhere.

And since I travel with Kaylin and Anselm, I'll be needing someone I trust relatively well enough to run the city while I March on conquering goal after goal.

And there lies perhaps the most pressing issue of all.

My choice of Delegation.

Although Kaylin is supremely enthusiastic about the fact that I've in some way or another kept my word and given the elves the first, officially free place they can call home, she is also quite perturbed by the fact that I don't consider her for my choice for my stand-in Mayor.

With Frozia I have Matthias and control over him means control over his city, I barely have to do anything at all, but with Aste, things are a tad bit more complicated.

"You still haven't given me a single reason why I shouldn't be the one to lead in your place, Asher." Kaylin demands, standing right next to me as I sit and flip through the piles of paper Hastra dumped on me.

Without a stand-in chosen and in place, I have to look through all this bullshit myself. There's a lot of pending security cases with victims and accusers and Nobles appealing or rather, attempting to bribe their way into buying land in distant areas around the city that somehow still count as Aste's jurisdiction. 

I don't have fucking time for paperwork, I'm a damn Necromancer!

"I have, and it's simple." I say without sparing her a look. She's recovered finely these past two days thanks to her mother's care, no longer looking or smelling like she'd been plucked out of sewage.

"I need you by my side Kaylin, this is merely the begin of things, this isn't even a victory, not until we get the entire March."

"You've never needed me!" She yells. 

At this I stop and throw her and incredulous look, "Of course I have."

She folds her arms, "Mention the last time I helped you out with something."

I scoff, "Well that's easy, you did as I asked and tried your best to stall for time when I was in Frozia."

"Exactly!" She snaps her fingers, "That's just what I'm talking about, to even begin to do that I had to gather the elves, gather information to blackmail them, then organize them in groups that would carry out an operation that I also designed."

I narrow my eyes, "Are you trying to say-"

"Yes! I'm trying to say I can help you best, not as a fighter but as a leader!"

I shake my head and turn back to my paperwork, "You realize that your operation failed woefully, right?"

She denies this, "No, no, no, that doesn't count as a failure because we were botched by the Mayor's insider, who by the way, revealed herself to me."

Intrigued, I look back to her, "You mean the spy confessed?"

She nods.

"Well did you kill her?"

She looks mortified.

"What! No, why would we?"

"Why wouldn't you? She's the direct reason so many elves have died, why Rariza and that other guy are dead."

"Utis." She offers.

"Yeah, Utis, cool guy."

"You never even met him." She groans, frustration oozing.

"Sure, but he stood for the same values I did, even though they got in my way a bit the Five were alright, they knew what to do for their people and they were ready to do it. An ungrateful sow like that spy shouldn't be left alive for causing their deaths."

She huffs, massaging her temples.

"You realize you could have been killed because of her too, right? And that Aren is in that state because of her."

"She had no choice!"

"Didn't she?"

"Her child was dying and the Mayor offered her help for information, wouldn't you take help like that if it were someone you loved in terrible health?"

At this I fall silent and hum.

"Regardless, the operation failed."

"It wouldn't have had we not been sold out."

"And whose fault is that?" I drawl.

"Ugh!"

I let out a mischievous laugh and breath a sigh, "I haven't had pointless banter like this in a while Kaylin. I'm exhausted."

She pouts, folds her arms and takes residence on the wide sturdy desk. "Does that mean you'll make me your stand-in."

It's my turn to groan, "Why do you really want this so badly Kaylin? I've already said I need you beside me, and if the knowledge that you'll be right there spreading the same freedom we've realized here to thousands of other elves isn't enough to convince you to stay with me, then what's keeping you here?"