Chapter 367: Unfamiliar Feelings

Chapter 367: Unfamiliar Feelings

"I believe it's about time," a tall, muscular giant of a man spoke slowly to nobody in particular. "You didn't lose sight of her, I hope?"

The air behind the man shimmered and a scrawny figure, dressed entirely in black leather, stepped forward and kneeled on one knee with a hand over its chest in front of the large one. "Fear not, Your Excellency, we have kept an eye on her the entire time. She is completely safe!"

"Good! Now that Myrtana is weakened It's time for us to act!" the big man said without even so much as glancing at his subordinate. "Send the word: She had enough fun, bring her home!"

"It will be done!" came an immediate reply.

"Also, make it look good. And get someone to take the fall, preferably dangerous-looking."

"Dangerous-looking? Hehehehe" the black figure giggled all creepy-like. "I know of a perfect candidate for the job. He is quite strong though, so we might have a bit of trouble getting him to comply."

"Difficult? In that case, I have a few things for you," the man leaned over and a box appeared in his hand out of nowhere. "Take it and go! You have one week."

The cloaked man quickly jumped on his feet, took the box, and bowed like a shrimp, "It shall be done so! I'll send the word right away and bring her back, unharmed!"

"Good, now go!"

"Yes, Your Excellency, my Emperor!"

***

It was a day like any other. Sun was shining, birds were chirping, children were playing, and the workers in Auralba were shoveling shit.

Well, actually, the sun was hidden behind the clouds, and vultures, crows, and other scavengers circled the battlefield around the city, reminding the people of the death that was still fresh in their minds, all while the workers were picking up pieces of rotting corpses buried beneath houses and collapsed walls.

"Ah, Sebas! I assume everything went well while I was away? The others didn't give you a headache I hope?" Gerald asked as he made his way towards the bathroom. He was feeling filthy after all this time and really needed a good soaking.

"Indeed, everything went splendidly, sir. The other masters were just fine as well, nothing out of the ordinary," the man replied.

"Excellent! Then how about the things?" The man was under orders to search for various beast cores while he was gone. Now that Gerald came back, he was, of course, curious as to what the guy found in the meantime.

"Yes, I have scoured the city markets and even private collections, however after the battle, not many goods were left. Though Earth Crystals and beast blood were easy to get, everything else was exceedingly hard to find."

"How much?" Gerald asked.

"Hundreds of Earth Crystals, they were dirt cheap so I bought many. Fire Crystals were very rare, only 17. Wind and Water were less than 10 each, and I only found one Light Crystal. It was quite expensive too, at least twice the usual price," Sebas Tian reported and then continued, "I have left them in your room as ordered. The parchment and scrolls as well, they are all there."

"Hmm" It was less than Gerald expected, especially the Fire Crystals, they were really not enough. If he was careful, perhaps he could make about a hundred Fireball spell scrolls. It would have to do for now.

"Alright. Tell the others to gather in the main hall in an hour or two, I'm going to take a bath."

"As you wish," Sebas replied, and with a bow, he walked away.

***

Sometime later the gang gathered all at one place as they sat on comfortable sofas and waited for Gerald's return.

Qiona and Elly were sitting together, debating alchemy, Warren stopped with his training and quickly went to change his clothes and sat with Sera, while Blum and Xilia have just returned as well, so nobody was missing.

Then finally, the main person came.