Chapter 58: Meteor – Part 3

Chapter 58: Meteor – Part 3

Today is the 4th.

Alissa wakes me up with a mischievous smirk and our day starts perfectly, just like it always should.

Then I look at my "Status" and frown.

"You girls are using me too much," I say.

"I told you he was going to complain," Hana says, lowly.

"But I'm growing! You drink less!" Aoi protests.

"But I'm thirsty!" Hana shoots back.

"Aren't you always?" Roxanne says and kisses her cheek.

"You two need to decide who gets first dibs. This new skill is quite mana-hungry," I say.

"I'm sorry, Hana, but Aoi gets priority this time," Ciel says and squeezes her shoulder.

"Fine..." Hana accepts and pouts.

The reason why it was easier to cast [Bind] on Roxanne yesterday was because my "Sanity" had increased by 1 (now 12+4). I'm improving, though it seems like it's because the world is forcing me to adapt or die, but at least it's progress.

Our breakfast is toast with a selection of pates and not-earl-grey tea. The chilly morning air starts to seep into our tent, so I shut the entrance, and the tea soon starts to heat up our naked bodies.

"This place is so comfortable. I really like it," Lina says, a little wistfully.

"We could easily live in the wild like this. There are plenty of trees that could make for great hidden bases," Alissa says.

"We could just use [Gate] to enter or leave town," Roxanne says.

"Until we are all linked with [Bind], I'd prefer that we didn't split up like that," I say.

"Hm... yeah, we'd be just one 'scrubber' away from being stranded apart," Ciel says with a slight frown.

I nod. "That sort of thing is one of my worst nightmares."

I've read too many novels where portals go wrong.

Alissa pouts, but nods in understanding.

Now that breakfast is done, it's time for us to teleport to Goloria.

With 91 points put into [Mana Efficiency] (the rest being in [Summoning Magic] and [Space Magic] because I can't remove any from them), it costs about 240 MP for about a day's worth of travel for each person, 1680 in total. My MP has increased to 1670, but I still need to keep some summons out, so it's reduced by 1/10th. We decided to divide the teleportation into two groups with a small break between them so that I can recharge some of my mana with [Redirect Mana].

Now that we are so close to Goloria, the area is much safer, so I just pull out the dinghy and, under some light rain, we reach the beautiful white town after half an hour.

The surface of the huge lake below the town is distorted by countless small waves caused by the rain; the cloudy sky nearly blocks out all of the few rays of sunlight that would normally manage to pass through the huge tree crowns; the view through the crystal clear water is now poor enough that we can barely see the outlines of the many pretty fish that we know are swimming just below the surface.

We enter the area of the lake currently cloaked in shadow by the town above, and the sound of the rain is muffled while the surface of the lake becomes calm. The crystals light the way and reflect off of the dark waters, giving us the illusion of being up in space among the stars.

The memories of my boat ride with Ciel brings a smile to my lips.

Then we finally reach the Pillar and fly upwards, which attracts some attention since there are only a few others who are flying like us. The crowds are all either on foot or riding an animal as they climb up or down the spiral.

We skip customs and easily enter the town, then we find cover under a balcony to talk.

"I'd like to know what the people have heard about the attack," I say.

"Right, rumors. I can get on that. The taverns are normally full of gossipers," Hana says with a confident nod.

"Even this early in the morning?" Alissa asks with a raised eyebrow.

"The night shift guards should be getting wasted right now."

"Oh..."

"So, meanwhile, we search for Bastico at the Knight Academy and arrange a meeting with Confiel," I say.

"Who's coming with me?" Hana asks and looks around while smirking.

"Alissa and Roxanne. I can summon both of you with [Bind] if I have to," I say before anyone can answer.

"Ah, Wolfy..." Alissa complains and her tail drops.

I pat her head and give her fox ears a few loving strokes. "You know it's the best choice."

She pouts cutely for a moment, then nods.

With Lina and Ciel on each of my arms, and Aoi on my shoulder, we make our way to the Academy. But before we reach the gate, we change into some more formal clothing and put on our rain cloaks.

Aoi snuggles around my neck and gives me loving licks every once in a while. Gify goes with Ciel since there's no room for her inside my cloak, and she makes my chocolate goddess a little elated at being chosen.

The girls only have open high heels, so to avoid getting their cute and delicious little feet wet in the rain, we use our less fashionable boots. Not that anyone would really mind our fashion faux pas.

One of the immediate changes I noticed is how the elves are not spying on us anymore. Quite the stark difference in the number of stares that we get.

When we reach the Academy, a familiar dark bark wall decorated with golden inlays blocks our way.

We go to the guardhouse and repeat the process of getting my scholar Title verified through an Inspection Crystal.

I flaunt a little and hold Ciel's waist by the ass while I keep Lina very close to me. The guard becomes a little stiff and lets us through with less wasted time than last time.

Being an "arrogant master" stereotype does have it's advantages. Mostly it's about preventing the common people from getting in your way or bothering you with stupid bullshit.

We enter the academy and the feeling of having my [Gate] blocked causes a small amount of fear to take hold of my heart.

Another thing that I rely on too much. One "scrubber" and we are fucked...

Once we are clear of the guardhouse, Ciel grabs my hand and pulls it up. "What are you getting handsy for?" Ciel asks me with a dangerous gaze.

This pulls me out of my fearful musings and I ask with a grin, "Can't I enjoy you in public?"ViiSiit novelbi/n(.)c/(o)m for latest novels

"Is there nothing that's too far for you?"

"Isn't a public display of love a great way to show how strong my love for you is?"

She scoffs. "You're making lewd actions into 'displays of love'?"

"Why not? I love both your body and your soul, but it's only easy to show how much I love your body," I say and shrug.

She narrows her eyes in confusion. "It's still depraved..." She says, not very sure of herself.

"So what? With the way things are going, soon the whole realm will know of our depravity."

She pouts. "Your argument is logical but I still have some principles."

"Well, sooner or later we are going to corrupt those principles, anyway," Lina says with a shrug.

"Exactly. It'd be better if you started getting used to it now," I say with a nod and we smirk at each other like villains.

"Sometimes I think that I was so naive when I fell in love with you..." Ciel says and sighs wistfully.

"Remember who made me like this," I say.

"Alissa did."

I smirk and glance at Lina, who's also smirking. "And you allowed it."

I lower my hand back to her juicy ass and give it a squeeze. This time she doesn't move my hand.

Walking aimlessly through this stupidly huge academy is not the best idea, so we enter the reception and I talk to the female attendant.

"I understand. I'm sure we'll meet again soon." His sly smile returns.

"It was a pleasure meeting with you again, until later."

"Likewise, and until then."

The girls nod respectfully and we depart.

Ciel sighs and groans. "Wow... I think I need Alissa to coach me with talking to nobility. It's just not the same thing as being a helpful shoulder for the commoners."

"I think that I'd rather just surrender control of myself through [Bind]. I'll never get used to all this formality," I say.

Lina puckers her lips in thought. "Well, it's easier to talk with nobles when they are formal because the rules are all known," she says.

"Eh, but it takes a lot of effort in remembering them all," I say.

"For me it's because it all feels so 'unnatural.' It's like wearing a mask and I hate everything about that," Ciel says.

"That's because your heart is pure," Lina says and smiles adorably at her.

"Awn..." Ciel reaches over to pat Lina's head.

"Uh-huh..." I say and give them a wry smile.

Lina's smile becomes impish. "Her heart is pure, but not her mind nor her body," she says.

Ciel rolls her eyes and continues patting Lina.

We meet up with the other girls at the tea shop. They got us a table on the second floor, so we have a nice view down the street of the white town. Even in the rain, this town is quite charming.

"So, I think we'd better go to the dungeon now instead of waiting," I say.

"Nice, we're bound to get into some fighting. It's been a while," Hana says.

"Well, not that long. Barely a vacation, really," Ciel says and smiles wryly.

"It's a lost tomb, so it might be very interesting," Lina says.

Ciel becomes more alert and interested. "What would it look like?"

Lina shrugs. "As far as your imagination can take you. With a mana storm as fuel for the construction, some tombs can get quite... gaudy."

"We have to go to the dungeoneering guild and check where it is. There might also be some information about it over there," I say.

"We'll do it after lunch," Alissa says, excitedly. Her tail wags as she thinks about studying new pictures of monsters.

"So, what are we going to negotiate with 'him'?" Roxanne asks.

I lower my voice so that only Ciel and Lina can hear me while I use [Bind] to tell the others. "I thought about requesting a small favor with the trial; access to their spy network, or whatever they call it; and a promise to help keep us safe from heretics, probably through an oath to the Gods,"

"That's quite a lot. We'll have to work a lot for that last one," Ciel says.

Alissa leans closer and speaks in the same way that I did. "We are a hero's party. The help of someone with a Gift would never be cheap."

"Ah. We should ask for a commendation letter from 'him.' That would easily get the Tribunal to rule in our favor in case things go really bad," Lina suggests.

"With everything we have stacked in our favor, it feels like Katasko is just being desperate with this sham of a trial," Alissa says.

"With how easily Taavi agreed to let us go, I think that their plan has already started to fall apart on its own," I say.

"It was crazy, to begin with," Ciel says and shakes her head.

"Which is why I think it's not the trial that would be a problem."

"Wouldn't the worst that could happen be that we just have to pay a fine?" Roxanne asks.

We all look at Lina and she shakes her head. "I know a lot about history, but not enough about the laws to be certain. So I'd say that it's likely because of the philosophy of the God of Law, but I'm not sure about it."

"And there's always the option of asking for a Seeker of Truth to participate," Roxanne adds.

"We're repeating ourselves; I just can't focus on the trial if I don't get any new information," I say and wave my hand dismissively.

Ciel's expression hardens and her cold stare pierces through me. "So... do you know what 'he' is likely going to ask for in exchange for those favors?"

"Yes."

I use [Bind] again so that I don't have to say it out loud.

"Does everyone agree with this plan?"

They all nod.

We are going to kill Crown Lord Este.

Announcement

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