Chapter 51 - 『Fulfilled』

A day later the man known as Jack Graham appeared at the front of the Jet's family household. His eyes were narrowed and his pace was swift. Within moments he had the back of his hand, knocking on the door in a neat classical rhythm of three.

His stoic expression dominated his face, his eyes glaring at the weak wooden structure.

That was until it slowly creaked open, his eyes drifted down towards a shorter man. It was the friend of Arche's. That was for sure. His silky pale skin and his bagged eyes, there was no mistaking him for anyone else.

Then the door opened all the way, air brushing across his face.

"Ah, it's just you..." Jet spoke in a dry and dull tone, he wasn't ecstatic to see the man, though he did want his mother cured after all. The contract had been signed and he was going to be forced to work with him.

"I'm here to deliver on my side of the contract, as I promised." It was a simple, straight to the point, statement. Jack didn't seem to find the need to sound all that colorful.

"Come on in."

As the young man stepped aside, Jack waltzed on into the house as if he owned the place. His hands folded behind his back. The place wasn't necessarily the best, but it was moderately comfortable for a low class home, but it had definitely see better days.

The floor wasn't made of expensive or extravagant material. Hand picked stone slabs it seems, from a quarry, decorated the ground. A wooden floor would definitely rot or rise, considering the home was at the bottom of the hill.

He'd probably have a better time living in a village, rather than the city, much more affordable and likely less problems with the nobility as he likely viewed them negatively. Especially nobles that were like Arche's parents. Just about anyone can start hating an entire social class because of those two self-absorbed knuckleheads.

"Right this way," Jet cleared his throat as he closed the front door, watching each step Jack made. Don't get him wrong, he was thankful for this opportunity, in a way he saw this man as generous.

His offers were just strangely too good to be true despite how miraculous he was.

The two would enter a delicate looking room with an elevated floor.

Dresser, cracked mirror, cheap makeshift mattress and plenty of patchwork blankets. There was plenty here to see, plenty of things that gave away their way of life.

They weren't rich, they weren't wealthy, but they were independent and lived in the city and owned a home which was a lot to say the least.

Jack's gaze rested on the woman who was bundled tightly in the bed. A damp cloth on her head and an even sicker appearance than her son. She was so pale, that the bags under her eyes were darker than that of coals. They were almost brown and the whites of her eyes were tainted in yellow.

Was it Kidney failure? Jack couldn't quite tell. Slowly he went to take a step forward, but not out of caution, just to observe.

"H-hello...?" A small voice faded in from the female upon the bed. "Jet, is that you...?"

"Mom, I'm here. I've brought someone who can help you," Jet walked up to the bed, taking his mother's hand. A pained smile across his lips.

"W-whut?" A look of surprise on her face, but not a happy one, more of a concerned look in her eyes. As if she knew he had sacrificed something in order to help her, something more than just his time making and selling spices.

"It's okay mom. I just have to work for him and you'll be alright."

Jack walked over towards where Jet stood beside the bed and looked over the woman for a spare few seconds before sighing.

This startled Jet who immediately turned to him, his smile disappearing, wondering if Jack had sighed as a sign of being unable to help.

That was until he reached out and cast a spell of Greater Cure, and immediately her disease vanished. Her complexion, her eyes, everything that had been infected was quickly reverting to a much healthier state.

He then used the spell known as Heal to quicken the recovery rate.

As Jet watched this, for the first time he was able to see high level magic being used on someone, and this someone, was his mother! If he had asked for someone to do this for him through the bureaucratic channels, there was no telling if he'd still have his arms and legs.

When the spells were finished, Jet practically fell to his knees beside the bed, weeping tears of joy. His hands were grasping at his mothers as she slowly sat up against the headboard.

Her eyes were wide, looking over herself and to her son. Then as she turned her gaze to Jack, she blinked up at him.

She could see the radiance that surrounded him, his angelic presence. Awestruck was one word to describe how she felt.

"Who are you...?"

"My name is Jack," Nodding his head slightly in acknowledgement as he introduced himself, he took a step back from the bed and turned his gaze towards Jet. "I'll be going now."

Keeping up his end of the bargain, Jack decided it was time to leave, only to vanish from sight a few seconds later.

The mother just sat there, staring at the spot on the floor where he had once stood. "Did he just..."

"Yes, Mother... He is a powerful person, he's even gotten the headmasters attention." Jet let out a light sigh, looking to the side of the room where there was just a blank wall.

"Is... Is that so...?" The woman seemed to be smiling only slightly.

...

Jack suddenly resurfaced in front of the Imperial Magic Academy, causing the two guards at the front gate to practically jump out of their grieves. "Huh!?"

"Hello," He feigned a smile in their direction, before walking towards the front doors of the central complex. His hands were folded behind his back, something he had a habit of doing.

As he made it to the double doors, he used his shoulder to push it open, his eyes immediately resting on a group of students were were about to leave in a small group. Yet he didn't stop and kept moving, hardly brushing past them as he's eyes wandered about the foyer.

The place was large on its own, considering it had to support the educated population which was continuously growing. It was practically a public school system thanks to the reforms made.

Fluder was behind his desk in his office, staring at the white feather that gave off a heavenly glow in his hand. His beady little eyes flickered from the feather to the ceiling, observing the length of its great radiance.

He had studied it for a day and it was an amazing item, something he had never seen before. It could turn someone into an Angel, not one of those non-sentient ones either, but a true one.

The power of being able to desolate entire plans was at his fingertips, even though he could probably lay waste to a city should he truly feel the need.

He scratched at his beard slightly before suddenly he glanced up to see a small ball of light enter the room. Squinting his eyes, he could quickly see it was some sort of fairy.

His expression quickly turned to confusion until it faded out of existence, an illusion? No, Fluder's eyes fixated on the door of his office as Jack came walking in with one hand behind his back and the other on the nob of the door.

Jack's eyes rested on the seated old man who suddenly sprouted up from the chair he was situated in as if he were some youthful brat.

"Good morning Graham-dono!"

"..." Jack stared at him for a few seconds, his eyes on the feather, before shrugging. "Morning Fluder. I see you're studying the feather I gave you. Make any recent discoveries?"

"Where did you get this?"

Jack narrowed his eyes on the man.

Clearing his throat, Fluder quickly sat back down in his comfortable padded chair seeing the change in Jack's expression. "It transforms its user into an Angel, capable of its own thoughts!"

"Yes... That's the point of the feather." Jack raised a brow slightly, "And how is it used?"

"From my preliminary findings, it's a single use item, and is used like any other magic item." Fluder held the feather up towards the ceiling as he gazed at it. "Kingdoms would fight wars over this alone. Especially that Slane Theocracy... If they hadn't been crippled." His eyes moved towards Jack who seemed to grin at the idea of the Theocracy being down.

"And it's in the center of the Empire," Jack's gaze was excited, yet cold. "When you've finished studying the feather, return it to the manor." Taking a step back, the angel would go to turn around only for Fluder to stand again.

Pausing, Jack turned his head to look over towards the man with a brow raised. "Is there something else?" He was rather curious of what else Fluder could find by looking at the feather.

Considering the current intelligence gathered seemed to be useless, only proving that it worked as it once did in the game. It didn't become a useless feather. Even though he pretty much already assumed this.