Chapter 103: To Honor Her Achievements – Part 1

Chapter 103: To Honor Her Achievements – Part 1

We remain silent for several long minutes, waiting for even a wisp of a spirit to appear, but we don't sense anything.

Yunia swallows an Eia pill and takes a step closer to the urn while Ciel also starts to pray to help Alissa.

After a few more minutes, Alissa's concentration falters as she begins to tire from praying so fervently.

I give Alissa five points in [Spirit Magic], then Yunia, Alissa, and I cast [Spirit Eyes] and [Spirit Link].

Link is a curious spell as it allows the caster to speak telepathically with spirits and sense their emotions, which is very useful for communicating with lost, or decaying spirits, or evil spirits, though that last one is a very unpleasant experience.

Necromancers and other Wicked people who want to trap spirits use someone's body as a path to find the spirit and pull it out of Paradise. While cremating someone and spreading their ashes prevents this, Gurrier's ashes are all gathered here in one place, so there's a slim chance that the path to his spirit is still intact.

"Wolfy... you have to be very careful with what you're thinking about doing right now," Ciel cautions me with a very serious tone.

"I just want to signal to him that we're here," I explain myself and walk up to the urn.

Alissa's heart is torn. She's fearful of what I want to do, but she can't bring herself to stop me.

Ciel sighs tiredly, then comes up behind me and hugs my back. "I find it extraordinarily difficult to stop you from trying out these crazy ideas, but I'll at least stick close to you so that you don't do something you shouldn't," she assures me with a rather motherly tone.

"Yeah, she's definitely our mother," Hana mutters offhandedly.

"I really love how you're always so supportive of us," I confess to Ciel and kiss her hand lovingly, making her smile brightly.

"There's still some Life in the urn," Yunia points out, giving us a sliver of hope.

"Gih," Gify agrees, and I get an idea.

I give Alissa five more points in [Spirit Magic] so that she can cast [Spirit Touch], then I sternly state, "I need everyone to work together for this plan." And I give them all a look.

"Gih!" Gify chirps boldly, and Yunia nods, then Alissa steels herself.

This will be a four-man job. Gify will gather all the wisps of Gurrier's spirit into a single spot, Yunia will guide us towards the Life, I'll assume control of Alissa to use [Spirit Touch] through her, and the VIP herself will continue praying to call for Gurrier's attention.

Once we're all ready, operation Ghost Call immediately begins.

Gify pops out of existence, and with [Spirit Link], I feel her presence moving around the urn and spreading herself wide, like a tentacle monster collecting girls to-... my imagination is a bit wild right now.

Anyway, the wisps of Gurrier's spirit are like water, and they're resisting Gify's touch, wanting to go back to their former positions and remain undisturbed.

Yunia stares intensely at the urn, providing me with the exact location where all the wisps are being gathered, a small dot that seems to be about the size of a needle's head.

I take control of Alissa's spirit hand and cautiously approach the wisps, trying not to disturb them too much, which would make it much harder for Gify to keep a hold of them.

Alissa closes her eyes and prays with all her heart, then Ciel pats her head and helps her calm down so that her voice can be more clearly heard by the Goddess of Piety.

The spirit hand comes closer to them, and the wisps start trembling in Gify's grasp.

Yunia's view of the Life blurs as it refuses to interact with Gify.

The spirit hand enters the urn, and even Gify feels like backing off from it since, for a spirit, the spell feels like chains approaching her neck.

The wisps tremble out of control, like magnets repelling each other, and they start to escape Gify's tentacles.

"Please..." Alissa whispers earnestly, and the wisps suddenly stop for a second.

I take the chance and close the spirit hand around the wisps, then I let Alissa hold it there by herself.

Ciel grabs Alissa's shoulder, her watchful presence preventing Alissa from pulling the spirit hand back out of the urn, no matter how much she wishes to see Gurrier.

The wisps are so small that they start to escape Alissa's grip like droplets of water slipping through her fingers.

Ciel grips Alissa's shoulder harder so that she doesn't grip the wisps too hard, and Alissa slowly exhales, forcing herself to calm down, then the last of the wisps escape her grasp.

"Please..." She whispers again, then we hear a tired sigh in our minds.

Alissa opens her empty spiritual hand, and I cast [Materialize], then an old male voice grumbles, echoing throughout the large, empty room, "I was having a wonderful nap in the sun, you know?"

Alissa whimpers weakly and sniffles, then she looks up and grins at the wrinkly old fox staring back at her with knitted eyebrows, his hands together behind his back in a dignified posture. He has a very stern face, but his shoulder-length white hair and short beard give him a very refined look, and I'm sure he must have sported a fine salt and pepper daddy style beard when he was younger.

"Gurrier..." She whispers, but I sense the word "raisin" echoing in her mind, and she hurriedly locks down her inner thoughts.

"Alissa..." Gurrier quietly replies, then his eyes scan over each of us. "And your new family."

Gify pops back onto my shoulder and lets out a low chirp.

Then Alissa chuckles girlishly. "Yes, my family. I'm sorry for interrupting your rest, but I wanted you to meet them. I wanted you to see what you helped me achieve." Then she takes a step back and lays her hand over my chest.

His frown softens, and his thin lips curl slightly upwards in a very subtle smile. "Ah, the Ryders. We've heard a lot about all of you," he starts with a husky, amused tone. "Your parents will never admit this, but they commissioned portraits of all of you," -he gives each of us another glance, lingering a little longer on the silent golems behind us- "and they weren't that far from reality."

Alissa sighs tiredly and rests her head on my shoulder. "How far did they go to spy on us?!" She grumbles in frustration.

"Every single piece of information that could be bought, was bought," he amusedly continues, his smile slowly growing wider. "Every time some news about you arrived, your father would tell everyone about it, and of course, he didn't allow me to forget anything."

Alissa cringes, and her pointy ears go flat. "Yeah, that sounds like Dad..."

He turns his gaze to me, and it seems surprisingly kind, in contrast to Alissa's memories of him. "At first, they hated you, Wolf."

"I wonder why," I mumble with a wry smile.

He nods slowly. "An unknown, meek child that seemed to be either low-level or simply unskilled in anything..."

"Ouch," I whine.

He snorts. "Yes, even I was suspicious, but I had my faith in Ghulam. Blood Slave merchants have an eye for good people, and there were enough peculiarities that it warranted us staying our judgment for a while longer."

Alissa crosses her arms and nods energetically. "Hmph, but of course! Since the very first moment I met Wolfy, I knew he was special!" She grunts and agrees matter-of-factly.

Gurrier's smile becomes slightly mischievous. "You should've seen Jacques' overwhelming pride when the news of your successful hunt of the Oodogloo came in."

"Wow, you remember that," I remark with a chuckle.

Gurrier annoyedly replies, "Of course I do. Alissa's father didn't allow me to forget anything."

Alissa's smile becomes stiff, trying not to cringe at her dad's overenthusiasm.

"How doting, he didn't come off like that during our first meeting," Yunia remarks with a raised eyebrow.

"Léonne reigned that in, but you can't change his nature," Gurrier explains, and Alissa nods begrudgingly. "It was after the Symbol of Hate that their opinion of you changed. They instantly noticed how your..." -He flashes a cheeky smile- "'Good Luck' was extraordinary."

Alissa grumbles annoyedly, then exclaims, "And besides, we're talking right now!"

His smile widens, but it's still a bit pained. "But I won't be able to see your marriage ceremony."

Alissa grumbles again as she opens her [Item Box], then she takes out her ID crystal tablet. "Then at least look at this."

He opens his eyes wide and moans weakly, "Ah... you did it... you really did it." Then he tries to grab the tablet, but it simply slips through his ethereal hands. "Oh..."

Alissa's tone becomes bold, energetic, and even a bit smug as she announces, "I've come back, not as a slave, but as the wife of my husband, and we're all destined to shape the realm with our influence, all because someone like you trained me to be who I am today!"

Gurrier's sad smile fades away, returning him to his usual stoic and professional self. "I understand now, Alissa. I welcome you back home now that your duty as a Blood Slave has been fulfilled, and I wish you luck in the future that the Gods have planned for you."

She takes a step forward and salutes him in the werefox way. "Thank you, Elder Gurrier, for everything."

Gurrier's wrinkled face softens completely, clearing it of the stiff and stoic expression that he usually shows. "Thank you for bringing me back for this," he whispers, his tone growing weak and wavering slightly. "I have nothing left to teach you, but you still have a long way to walk, and a tall mountain to climb, so never stop growing, never stop fighting, because that is something that I know I taught you well."

"I'll never stop!" Alissa exclaims, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

Then he sighs, and his posture hunches forward slightly. "I'm tired now. There are many other things that I'd like to talk about, but I've already said everything I needed to. Goodbye, Alissa. May you and your family shine like stars."

"Goodbye, Gurrier. May your time in Paradise be long," she whispers back.

He smiles gently, and the old man's figure slowly blurs and fades away until there's nothing left.

Alissa sheds a few silent tears, and I hug her tight, which becomes the perfect excuse for another group hug.

Announcement

Hall of Fame of Patrons

The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:

Prince PreownedFIN.

Prince Creamy Spinach.

Lord Andrew Meyers.

Lord Samuel Lim.

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