Chapter 190

Chapter 190

Things went smoothly.

Simon hid in a box on a wagon and made it safely through the Gate of Divinity.

Normally, there would be a cumbersome procedure where inquisitors would check goods leaving the Federation, but thankfully the Heavenly Blood incident relaxed their vigilance enough to make passing the inspection easy.

After passing through the Gate of Divinity, he safely arrived at the neutral zone of the Hali Desert. Simon activated the magic circle on the bottom of the crate.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the familiar territory of Hobb. He immediately boarded a carriage there and made it to Les Hill. He paid the horseman at the forked forest road where he and Rete had first met, then set off on his own two feet to cross the mountain range.

Everything had gone so smoothly ever since Heavenly Blood was dealt with. It almost felt too smooth.

'I arrived earlier than expected. Something wouldn't have happened in the meantime, right?'

Such worries had crept on him.

After a while of frantic running, he finally got home.

'Ah!'

The house had been neatly restored while Simon was off at the Holy Federation. It was so well done that it was hard to find any traces of White Flame burns.

'Well, it'd be a piece of cake if Father utilized his skeletons.'

Simon approached the door and knocked, fearing the worst.

"Father! It's me, Simon."

Footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door, and then it creaked open.

Richard stood there with his arms open, beaming.

"Simon! I'm glad that you're safe!"

The two hugged for a brief moment.

"I got it! The White Leaf from the Tree of Life!"

Simon took the box containing it from his subspace and opened it carefully.

"Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Of course!"

Richard carefully took the leaf off its pillow and examined it carefully. Then, he smiled with a sigh of relief.

"It's the real deal. Well done, Simon."

"You're going to start the operation right away, yeah?"

"Mhm. I have it all prepared."

He decided to start Anna's operation that evening.

Richard said Simon didn't have to see it, but he insisted.

If Anna got sick the same way again, it couldn't hurt to have two people who could save her.

Richard noticed a note tucked on the bottom of the box as he pulled out the White Leaf in preparation for the procedure.

"Have you read this note?"

"Nope."

Simon didn't check the bottom of the box, being he'd been too busy protecting it ever since he received it.

Richard unfolded it and read,

"It says 'To my brother-in-law.' "

"Ah!"

Exclaimed Simon.

"It must've been written by Israfill!"

"Hm."

Richard had heard from Simon that Israfill obtained the White Leaf for him.

He unfolded the note. It was filled with research on the side effects of Essence removal and how to combat them.

The culmination of all the research she'd probably done for Anna. A smile tugged at Richard's lips.

"My sister-in-law probably hates me, but She's really helping me out."

"What does the note say? Is it really that helpful?"

"Of course. This is the work of a divine authority far superior to me."

Richard rolled up his sleeves.

* * *

When Simon returned to his room after his long absence, he found a stack of letters on his desk.

They were from Rick, Meilyn, and Camibarez, his fellow group members.

'I feel bad for not being able to reply right away.'

Simon picked up the topmost group of envelopes, Meilyn's.

As expected from Meilyn, the envelopes looked incredibly antique and expensive, even sealed with fine beeswax.

Removing the seal and opening the first envelope to see what was on the stiff paper, he saw her pristine handwriting.

She had sent three letters in all. To briefly summarize the three:

Feel honored that I'm writing you a letter. I've actually never written one before, but you're the first one I'm sending one to. It's an honor, right?

I'm having a great life! I'm brilliant, I'm cool, I'm doing good training! Anyway, I'm the best.

I've sent you three letters, and you don't dare reply to any of them? Do you want to die?

After reading the last letter, Simon let out a worried laugh. If he didn't reply soon, Meilyn might be in a fiery rage when they returned to class. Or at least in a sulky mood.

Next were Rick's letters.

He had sent seven. They were very practical looking, written on plain white paper in plain white envelopes.

Inside was indecipherable, cursive handwriting. To summarize:

Lets play!

Lets play!

Im writing a letter and a pretty girl is walking in front of me!

Lets play!

Can I go play at your place?

Lets play!

Lets play!

It seemed like Rick really just wanted to play.

Suddenly, Simon started to worry about Rick.

'I wonder if he's done all his holiday homework.'

Finally, there were Camibarez' letters.

She sent three, as well, on mauve paper in a pink envelope. Each had handmade stickers on them, adding to the cuteness. They were full of sincerity.

The letters were a bit crumpled, and scrawled out text littered what was written inside.

Simon! how are you? i'm fine. i'm staying in the lab of Professor Silage's disciple. how's les hill?

i'm going to work hard to keep up with the three of you during holidays! how are you, Simon?

Oh, um, I'm not getting any reply Ah, but that doesn't mean I'm forcing you to reply or anything! Or did I do something wrong? If so, please tell me I'll do my best to fix it over the holidays

Camibarez' last letter left Simon with a hole in his heart. He felt like a douche for not being able to respond.

'I hope they aren't hurt or anything. Now, let's write back quickly.'

In addition to the letters he had written on the divine train, Simon began to write a new letter for each of them to explain why he wasn't responding.

I've been working away from home for a while for personal reasons, so I couldn't reply. I'm truly sorry. I'm doing well, and I'm also working hard on my homework. I can't wait for the holidays to be over. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again!

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Simon crossed the mountains and hand-delivered the letters to the postman, giving him a thankful bow.

Returning to his daily life, Simon spent the remaining days practicing the basics of necromancy while aiding Richard's job as Lord.

Soon after, letters from all three arrived at the same time. When Simon read them, he saw that they all understood Simon's situation. Perhaps Camibarez was happy to have the misunderstanding cleared up: she had added more stickers to her letter.

And so, as they exchanged letters, Rick wrote to everyone a proposal.

Why don't we all meet in Langerstine before returning to Roke Island? Let's buy the textbooks for 2nd semester, get supplies, tell some stories, and catch up with the homework! Are you guys down?

'Sounds like fun.'

It was exactly what Simon wanted.

The letter made him want to see the three of them even more. He wrote back that he was looking forward to it.

'I can't wait for next week.'

Simon leaned back in his chair and smiled.

He figured he should really start getting ready for school.