Chapter Seventy-Five: Branching Off

Chapter Seventy-Five: Branching Off

Ginnie and I had our reunion, but it consisted of her crying. Tris, Tilde, and Erin silently sat with us.

“Ginnie?!” exclaimed an overprotective Catfolk, who rushed across the café, drawing the sword resting at his hip. I stood and turned, purifying his false hatred. His weapon dropped after his grip weakened, and he stumbled with small, child-like steps as his emotional face resembled his one and only, who continued to pour her heart out. The nearly empty café was drawn to the scene.

Once they had calmed down, we all sat around the table and caught up as the drinks we ordered were delivered. I ordered a green tea that went down smoothly, and it was delicious. Tilde and Erin got milk tea, and Tris requested her coffee to be black. I didn’t know what kind of beans were roasted to make it, but it smelled pure and earthen.

Chax offered a meek apology to the waitress for making a scene.

After I had destroyed the goblin larvae resting inside them, they were escorted out of the dungeon by those Racoonfolk we encountered. It wasn't easy after that, but those two were saints. They looked after Chax and Ginnie for the next few weeks, nursing them back to health slowly and surely. When asked why, they merely responded that kindness was the oil that squeaked the wheels of reality, which sounded cultish to me.

But cult or not, Chax and Ginnie were only alive and well because of their efforts. They soon got their strength back. Swimba—leader of the party that left them to die—learned of their survival not long after that. Perhaps regret tore at him like a hawk clawing its prey because he soon appeared before them, begging their forgiveness.

But that did not happen.

Swimba sold the brooch Ginnie received from Chax’s late mother, which was the plan, but that mere act broke up the rest of the party after they couldn’t handle the guilt. A moment of drunken greed destroyed a tight-knit group of friends. Although if this broke them up, perhaps they weren’t so close after all. But Swimba gave him the money he received after selling the brooch—he couldn’t bring himself to spend it—and Chax thrashed the back-stabbing piece of shit. He left him in a pile of his own blood and broken bones, with grim words to never, ever, ever try to come after them. “I don’t know if he’s alive or not. He was in bad shape when I walked away. I took what you said to heart. It doesn’t matter what happens in this life, I’ll never forgive him. He was a bastard, and I wish he croaked his last breath that night. However, I’ll no longer taint my thoughts with him.”

“What happened with the other two?”

“We don’t know. We don’t intend to try to find out, either. You know, we don’t even know your name. We’ve been referring to you as Ms. High Elf.”

“It’s Lyudmila Springfield, but you can call me Mila.”

“Umm... I remember the look in your eyes, Mi-Mila,” Ginnie said, stumbling over her words. She looked at Tris, Erin, and Tilde, then back to me. “Are...you doing better? We’ve been worried about you—about if we'd ever see you again.”

“I am. Much better. You could say I’m a completely different person than the last time we met.”

“That’s good.” Ginnie sounded relieved. She relaxed in her seat and gave a soft smile. Since they got me up to speed about them, I did the same, leaving the obvious chimeric details out of the picture. Their memories of the situation were hazy, but they remembered seeing a fairy and a Lionfolk with me. Tilde was quite happy she made such a dazzling impression. Some fairies were known to have a skill to switch them between their 'fairy' size and their ‘adult’ size, so to speak, so they probably assumed Tilde had that. As for her new appearance, they thought a similar skill was responsible.

Regardless, that wasn’t important. Ginnie asked about Sekh, though. Since they remember her being powerful and beautiful in the bloody chaos. I just told them she was having a well-deserved rest after what happened at Ria. “You were there when that happened?!” Chax exclaimed. “But you’re fine? You and your family escaped?”

“That’s right. We’re at the Waterdale Inn on the other side of town. I helped Captain Caulk and Lady Plymoise, so we’re staying there until we get back on our feet. But... You’re looking different. More confident, I mean.”

“I’m glad you noticed! I have Fennecfolk in my blood, so I’m a mixed breed. When I evolved, I took their ears and kept my Dogfolk tail.”

“Congratulations on your evolution. The ears are cute.”

“Hehe! Thanks!”

“Master, I have a suggestion,” Tilde suddenly said. “A favor is more accurate. Erin, it concerns you, Longtooth, and our friends.” Tilde pointed to the couple sitting across from us.

“If it’s something we can do to help you, then please ask!” Chax and Ginnie erupted at the same time.

“With your permission, it makes more sense for Erin and me to adventure together to grow stronger. It’s safer for her, and I’ll never be able to help you with your work with the Bloodhounds with how weak I am as a Lv. 1. We can trust Chax and Ginnie, and I know you’ll feel better knowing someone's looking after us. I also need to train with my weapon. Knowledge is different from first-hand experience.”

“Erin? You said you wanted to become independent, so the choice is up to you. I won’t force you to do one thing or the other, but know that I want you to remain safe above all else.”

“I guess I was being stubborn, huh?” Erin hugged Longtooth close to her chest. I nodded. “I don’t want to make things any harder for you. Ms. Ginnie... Mr. Chax, if it’s okay with you, please...teach me. I promise I won’t be any trouble! Me and Longtooth will be on our best behavior!”

Ginnie and Chax didn’t have a problem. They even welcomed the chance to adventure with another group—and they knew, deep down, that Tilde and Erin would never abandon or hurt them. And they had my promise and vow as a High Elf.

As we left, they asked Erin if she was a spirit summoner. I told them it was a little more complicated than that. When they saw Surtr lounging outside, taking in the warm morning sun, they weren’t as confused or surprised as I thought. “Yesterday, we heard rumors of a High Elf riding a flaming lion. We never thought it would be you. Longtooth is a sub-servant of your spirit? Is that right?”

“Yes. Surtr is the primary spirit. The other four are protecting my family.”

It was just a few short seconds to get to the guild, where I left Erin and Tilde with Chax and Ginnie. My sister’s nerves got the best of her because she trembled when I hugged her. But she said she had to be strong. And I trusted her. This was something she wanted and desired to do. Tilde was playful and wanted a goodbye kiss, so after giving her one, I watched them enter the guild with our friends while I turned towards the bounty-hunting guild.

Tilde said something about gunshots, and Ginnie and Chax showed her a pair of earmuffs designed to help with loud, sharp, abrupt noises.

Apparently, they had purchased them in case they ran into me again.

“Tris, keep an eye on them. They’ll probably enter a non-indexed area, but I want to know when they show back up on the map.”

“Of course, my lord. I’ll watch over them.”

“Longtooth is in constant communication with me, Lord Springfield. I will alert you if there is a problem.”

“And what is this deal Lord Springfield wished you to discuss with me?” asked Gretchen Plymoise from behind her desk at the ministry. The overly verdant woman was dressed in so much green it could suffocate a magical creature rumored to live at the end of a rainbow.

“It is a way for you and her to make money,” explained Ichiha. “In short, we have acquired nearly five complete sets of outfits woven by Holy Lord Amos.”

“Oh?” Gretchen raised a curious eyebrow.

“I had the same look when my daughter told me. These are the gloves Lord Amos sewed for Reina, one of his Soul Warriors. It’s said that she was buried in them, but the clothes eventually fell into my daughter’s hand by complete chance.” Ichiha retrieved the clothing from a bag she’d brought with her. While preparing for this impromptu meeting, one of her daughter’s clones knocked at her door and left the gloves.

Treaties were worth as much as the parchment they were written on. Lies, deception, and betrayal had to be around every corner.

But a Heptarchis wasn’t always called for mere skirmishes. In this case, it was just as probable for Orchta to ignore Gretchen’s plea.

Why?

I didn’t know. And Tilde didn’t know that much about the Orchta’s inner workings.

The Atrixian government must’ve been freaking out because their surprise attack failed.

I wish I had seen the meeting with their diplomat. It’s too suspicious to have Mom ask about it. I know he’s still in Plymoise, but he’s alone in his embassy’s office.

“Tell Tilde I appreciate her info.”

“... She said she expects to be back in town in six hours,” replied my lion.

Gretchen’s conversation with Mom and Tilde’s info gave me much to think about. I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do.

Or what I wanted to happen.

Should a war break out, the chances of me growing even stronger were very high. But did I need that attention coming my way? Surtr and my current reputation probably indicated that I was already more well-known than I would’ve liked.

Then again, perhaps this was fate smiling for once. Power and life force were what I needed above all else. There was no need to look this opportunity in the face and snarl in its face like an ungrateful brat.

Our destination was a series of underground chambers discovered after an earthquake split open the ground. The ravine was deep and dark, descending for a few hundred feet. It wasn’t something for the average explorer to get into without prep and training.

But my clones needed none of that. After indexing the area with Clone!Bird, I sent another one to kill the bounty, Groxin. This Metal Orc was wanted dead because he had a habit of escorting people through dangerous areas filled to the brim with bandits and leaving them if they didn’t pay him extra for protection. And even then, he would unhook the wagon from his horse and ride away, leaving his victims to suffer a fate worse than death. There were rumors he was connected to the criminals and received money for each poor bastard left behind.

He was a spineless coward. Lv. 37 he may have been, Tris’s analysis of his skills caused her to conclude he only made it this far because his skin was as hard as metal. When my clone found him sleeping in the furthest depths of the chamber, four bullets to the dome weren’t enough to end his life. It did nothing but grant him a concussion, but Groxin immediately scampered away in a frightful yell.

Metal was tough and strong, but even the most durable structure would find itself struggling against acid. A couple of [Acid Breath]-infused bullets weakened his head enough to draw blood after the vines restrained Groxin. One more destroyed his brain, causing this hunt to come to a swift conclusion.

“That’s another 189 SP. But [Mana Perception] still requires more. It’s so expensive.”

“Most choose to learn it manually to save the SP for something else, Lord Springfield,” commented Surtr, who yawned while he feasted on a mule deer he had hunted.

“Easier said than done,” I replied, retrieving the corpse’s head that the clone stashed in the appropriate bag. “Come on, let’s head back and get our 23 silver.”

Surtr devoured the rest of his meal quickly and roared. Then we hopped on his back and made the lengthy trip back to Plymoise.

“Your mother has just left the ministry,” Tris said, hugging me from behind. “After the relevant topics were discussed, they chatted like familiar colleagues. However, there will be another meeting between Lady Plymoise’s advisors to discuss the offer given to her. However, it won’t be until tomorrow morning at the earliest, but I predict a small chance of her requesting your presence before then.”

“Anything else?”

“Lady Plymoise knows of your bounty hunting, so I suspect that will come up should she strive to have an audience with you.”

“That makes enough sense. Use a portion of your resources to keep an eye on them. If they say anything important, let me know right away.”

“Understood.”

Longtooth informed Surtr that they were ten minutes away from reaching the guild when we turned in the bounty. We spent that time at the café, enjoying delicious tea outside the entrance while ordering a large bowl of milk for my lion.

He would be fine without eating, but it increased his stamina’s recovery. The mana inside what he ingested was turned into pure energy, so it was like digestion but on an accelerated scale.

“Maaasterrr!!!” Tilde shouted once she came into view. My fairy ran ahead and leapt into my arms. She and Erin reached Lv. 3, and I got 23 SP from the loyalty system’s sharing effect.

I still needed much more. Much, much, more.

I welcomed Erin and Longtooth back once they reached us. Ginnie complimented Tilde’s accuracy with her gun. After they turned in the quest, I invited Chax and Ginnie to have dinner with us, and I was happy they accepted it.

“If you’re offering, Mila, we’ll gladly accept it.”

I’m so happy they’re doing better.

On the way back, we chatted about Erin and her surprising adeptness at fighting. She was small, so those daggers were perfect for her—once she obtained the [Dagger] weapon skill, that was. But without it, she could still stab her enemies with the pointy end, which she did after Longtooth used their flames to create a ring around the scorpions. It would always go down right when Erin sleuthed around its rear to stab it.

The vines emerging from the wounds endlessly battered its prey with powerful slams. At the cost of expending mana, Erin could force the vines to act in a specific way, which she did to restrain any other scorpions. The openings allowed Tilde to pick them off.

I told Erin I was proud of her and rubbed her head. “I wanna help the family. I don’t wanna be...like how I was before. Mom and Dad... You and Irisa... I’m...happy when you rub my head like that. It makes me feel fuzzy inside. Longtooth told me about image training last night. I just kept imagining us in a fight with a monster, and Longtooth really helped me. I know I have a long way to go. It was scary, but...”

Ginnie and Chax said they saw potential in her, which made the Catfolk blush harder.

“You don’t have to reinvent yourself in a day. Or a week. Or even a month. Go at your own pace. Do what’s comfortable. No one’s going to blame you, okay? I won’t let them.” I rubbed my sister’s head again and watched her tail swoosh through the air.