Chapter 148: Victoria Returns

After the discussion about what to do, everyone agreed that the only choice they have is to wait for Victoria and hoping for good news.

The next morning, I saw everyone is already up. Well, more like they didn't fell asleep at all. They must have difficulty sleeping thinking that our plan for the stampede might be known by the cult.

As for me, I slept like usual. I'm fine if they know about our plan. It's because I have confidence in running away. Although it might be difficult to escape with the others, I'm sure I can still escape. But I still hope that Victoria will return with good news, and Veronica can be trusted.

As I go to the dining hall, Sonia was there.

"You're not with Albert?"

"No. My job over there is done. I'm resting here. Since most likely Albert will ask many things after Victoria returned, and I have to go over there and back again and again." Sonia replied.

"Do ghosts need to take a rest?"

"I don't know about other ghost, but this one need it. So don't bother me again until Victoria returns." Sonia snapped at my question.

I'm just curious about it. I guess she must be pretty tired after relaying Albert's messages to other cities. That's why she's too sensitive and need rest. I'll leave her alone for now.

Everyone is too tense because of yesterday's event. I want to have a chat with someone, but I don't like this kind of atmosphere so I left the hotel.

Not knowing what to do, I choose to wait until lunch time like any other people my age. Going to school.

Kayla and Angela chose to stay at the hotel to cultivate and training. Even Ms. Wendy skipped going to school today. All the male students must be disappointed.

When I arrived at school, everyone is talking about the practical exam that happened two days ago. Although I gained a lot of attention, what they're talking about is the person who attacked the target after me. Well, it's still me they're talking about.

But they seem to have forgotten the result of the others. Angela's and Kayla's powerful attacks were forgotten. And even my amazing number of eight has been forgotten.

It's like everything in the exam didn't matter at all. Well, that's good. It means my plan to avert their attention from Kayla and Angela worked.

I went to class and returned when it's about time for lunch. Although there are still class after lunch, I skipped them.

Maybe I should just skip everything altogether from now on. After all, according to Ms. Wendy, I'm can graduate as long as I passed two out of three exam. I have passed one of them, and this second one, although they haven't graded the written exam yet, I'm confident I can pass it.

Once I received the result, I can go to the principal right away and ask for my degree. But since the result hasn't been out yet, I left. Maybe I could ask Ms. Wendy to take care of it.

When I returned to the hotel, the lunch has been prepared and everyone is already seated.

"Well, it's rare to see everyone so eager to eat." I said.

"You're not summoning Victoria yet?" Angela asked something everyone wanted to ask.

"After lunch. We will have our discussion with our belly filled. I don't want anything to disturb my meal after all."

Everyone ate quickly. All of them has finished their meals while I'm continued having my second, third, fourth, and fifth serving. The portion that Lina made today is smaller than usual.

I ignore their stare as I continued eating. I know they want me to summon Victoria quickly, but my meal is important to, you know?

"Alright, I'll summon her now. Should I summon her right away or connect a portal to her location?" I asked their opinions.

"I think it's better if you just summoned her right away. If you used a portal, anyone near Victoria will be able to notice the portal. Not just it will make the enemy on guard, they will also learn of summoner's real ability. It will be horrible if they ended up able to travel to one place to another easily." Kayla calmly replied.

Although she looks tense, she's still coolheaded as always. And hearing her reply, everyone agreed as well.

And so, after everything on the tables are cleared, I summoned Victoria right away to the table. And 'poof!' she appeared as… an earring? I guess that's the form she took to not make other cult member realized her existence.

"Welcome back. So? How's it going? Do you have the time to tell us what you found?" I asked her directly.

"Don't worry. I let Blobby take over last night when Veronica asleep so I have a lot of time. I already told her about this condition of mine." Victoria replied.

"Did you tell her about us?"

"No. Other than the fact that Albert is the leader of the operation, I never told her about anything else. Just telling her that we want to destroy the cult. I also just told her that we planned to save the citizens from the stampede. But I didn't tell her any plan on how we will do it."

It's good that Victoria knows to keep us as secrets. But if she keep too many secrets, won't Veronica feel that it will be difficult to trust Victoria?

"So, what do you got? Everyone is too tense since yesterday and they haven't got enough sleep because of it."

"About Veronica? She agreed to help us. She will be a spy on that side. So I think of having her have an accessory to call Sonia so we can contact each other. Just her having a single ring won't make the cult suspicious, right? The ring is just a normal one but they would never think that it's used for long distant communication." Victoria said.

Everyone feel relieved when they heard that Veronica joined our cause and agreed to help. But I'm still skeptical to having her. As for giving her a ring, I think it will be fine as long as there's no one on that side that can exorcize Sonia.

"If it's just a ring, then I can do it. But tell her to only call Sonia when the area is empty and no one is around. And when talking to Sonia, she need to speak in low volume." I agreed to give Veronica a ring.

"Good! But… I don't feel you're as excited as the other. What's wrong, Roy?" Victoria noticed that I haven't trusted her.

"Well, of course I still don't trust her yet."

"Why? Because she almost managed to seduce you and if I haven't stopped you, you will approach her?"

As soon as Victoria said that, I felt the girls' are glaring at me. Why did she has to say something like that? But that is one of the reason why I haven't trust Veronica yet.

"If she's willing to use her body like that, of course I will be suspicious if she's really crying for her mommy that time. What if she did that to gain information on us? From now on, only Victoria and Sonia can make a contact with her. Maybe me as well since I'm Victoria's master. But if possible, I'll leave it to Victoria."

"I'm fine with it. Now I have important information about their plan during the stampede."

Hearing Victoria's word, everyone is leaning forward to hear what Victoria learned. I asked Sonia to remember everything Victoria said and relay it to Albert.

"The schedule of the stampede seems to be changed. Veronica hasn't learned when it is, but before the stampede happen, most member of the cult will leave the city. This will happen in every city as well. So when most of the cult member leave the city, it means the stampede will happen soon."

"Aren't there too many people on that side? Won't it make people suspicious to see that a lot of people is leaving the city?" Candy asked.

"Seems like the governors of each city, or those with power at least, will apply a request to the guild. They will give a minimum reward and trying to get as many people as possible. Which will make normal hunters refused that job because of the reward, while the request itself is a message to all member of the cult saying it's time to leave. Only some people like the governor himself and several important people in each city will stay." Victoria explained.

"So they used the request as a message. Have someone goes to the guild every day, in the morning and afternoon, to see if the guild have such request to take."

I said to Ms. Wendy who's in charge of the agents in this city. Ms. Wendy nodded to my suggestion and give the order to an agent next to her.

"Anything else?" I asked Victoria.

"Yes. Veronica herself with her position still doesn't know what the cult is planning for the world. She just know that the goal is to destroy the world, but for the plan to do it, she will only be relayed a message from someone even higher once the plan was made."

"So it's difficult to find more information. Then, what about the expert level mages they have?" I asked about the expert level mages.

"Those who don't have status or power in the city will leave. So Veronica herself will leave this city soon. I think it's better to give her a ring right away."

She keep saying for me to give her a ring right away? That sounds like I'm proposing to her doesn't it?

Victoria continued, "She stays in one of the noble's house in this city. It's better if you gave her a ring tonight."

"That sound like Roy is proposing to her, doesn't it?"

As soon as Angela said it, everyone is looking at me weirdly.

"Not a ring, okay?! I'll give her a bracelet or a necklace but not a ring?! Why do you want it to be a ring?! Anyway, we know what to do now. They doesn't seem to know about our plan and sending the expert level mages and most of their members to leave the city. We will continue with our plan. But we need to be careful because the governor will stay and we don't know if he's an expert level mage or not. Sonia, inform Albert right away. I'll go meet this Veronica right away." I said and about to return to my room to grab a bracelet for her.

"So you trust her?" Kayla asked.

"We might be able to trust her, but not her surroundings. That's why I need to check it first. Victoria, show me the way."

After grabbing a bracelet, I jumped out of the window to the rooftop of the hotel and jumped from building to building while making sure that no one saw me. I made sure to cover my face before I meet Veronica. Let's keep my identity a secret from her.