Chapter 403: Ease

Chapter 403: Ease

Mid Afternoon - Mid Winter : Atlas | Bahamut

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"My lord," Gently bowing as she entered my room, Chloe spoke through a smile. "Everyone's things have been prepared. I sincerely apologize if we made you wait."

I was quick to wave her off with my wing. "Don't worry, I only just wrapped up my work anyway. Go ahead and meet me outside while I take this to Mother's office."

Cheerfully nodding, she promptly trotted out of the room just before I made my way to Mother's office with a few stacks of papers pertaining to the construction of Eikasía, Hera's underground city.

*Vwoom* But while my mind had yet to switch gears, the moment I stepped into Mother's cold office, memories of my childhood resurfaced, and my thoughts slowed.

"Are you done already?" Speaking warmly, Mother gave me an oddly surprised look.

"Yeah, Hera and I scanned a majority of the city when we were investigating the cult, so these were easy to do." For the most part, the papers were asking for permission to build certain structures, asking for advice, or raising questions about structural integrity, all of which I could easily answer after having seen it all in person.

"Ah, that must be why Hera wanted me to forward those to you." Grabbing the stack of papers, she curiously looked through several of them before eventually looking back up at me. "So, are you planning to head to the Cabinet now?"

Nodding, I walked over to her and gently pressed my head into the bottom of hers. "I'm not sure I'll be back before the festival begins since Hera will probably want to run me around like a workhorse, so if not, I'll see you whenever we get to Atlas. Are you planning on staying at this estate or the-"

"We will be here." Cutting me off, she let out a soft sigh. "Haah, unfortunately, our new estate on the outskirts hasn't been finished yet, and probably won't be finished for a number of months. With the construction of Eikasía, many of the architects we normally hire have been preoccupied."

She seemed both excited and disappointed. "What a shame..." After glancing over the design in some of the papers, I was honestly excited to see how it'd turn out. -But it looks like that'll have to wait...- "In any case, I'll head out now, before I make everyone wait too long."

"Haha, alright, sweetie. Be safe~." Standing up and gently embracing me, her smile warmed.

"Ah, actually, I have something for you." -I almost forgot.-

"Hm?" She immediately tilted her head as she watched me pull something out from under my wing.

"If you ever need me to come to you for anything, use this to reach me." Handing her a tiny, human-sized tablet, I turned on the screen to reveal a keypad. "If you just type '4856' into that keypad, it will notify me, and I'll come back in an instant."

Her eyes instantly glowed as she took the tablet. "H..How do I type it in?"

"Just tap a bit of electrically charged water onto one of the numbers. Like this," Quickly showing her how to use it to ensure she wouldn't accidentally destroy the tablet when she needed me, her expression slowly lit up. "I only have one, so please be careful not to lose it, and be sure to keep it with you." -Now that Father's awake, I'm a little less stressed about it, but...- "If something happens, please don't hesitate to type in that code, okay?"

Hastily nodding, she looked down at it like she was holding some priceless artifact. "I'll take care of it, I promise!"

"Haha," I honestly wanted to laugh. "When I get the chance, I'll try and make a few more so Father and Krystallo can have one, but for the time being, I need you to at least watch over Father with it, okay?" -After his dragon sleep, he shouldn't get pushed around by anyone under the ancient stage, but you never know what might happen...-

Slowly realizing the magnitude of what I was saying, she fell silent.

"You know I love you, Krystallo. I'd burn the world to protect you if I had to. So.. please don't forget that..."

Gently nodding, she glanced at me before looking back at the ground. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be..." Over the last ten years, I had constantly been run around without the ability to spend much time with her. "If anything, I should be the one saying sorry to you..." But having the ability to redeem myself in that aspect came with risks. -I can't risk Odin setting his sight on her...-

So, from that moment forward, I amplified my divinity's presence several-fold, ensuring there wasn't a single god on Delphi that didn't know exactly where I was, and in turn, where to not wander.

But while my divinity's presence was now so thick that even Krystallo seemed to jolt from its sudden change, I tried my best to keep my nerves calm. "Let's just focus on having a good time during the festival, okay?"

Looking back at her, I watched her expression quickly warm. "Okay..."

And at last, the tightness in my chest finally eased. -But, even though it's what she wants.. bringing her into my world...- Looking at the seemingly distant, stormy clouds over the horizon, I felt nervous. -Is this really something I should do..?-

Falling into silence as we continued through the rest of the flight, no one said another word, silently enjoying the view over Bahamut as the sun accelerated toward the horizon behind us.

It made for a rather peaceful and relaxing flight, to the point that Krystallo had even dosed off halfway through, gently gripping my fur as she sank into a dream so deep she didn't even wake up when we landed. *Fwoosh* *Fwoosh-Thump*

Quickly letting Chloe and Maria off with everyone's things, I motioned over one of Hera's maids and had her show them where everyone would be staying for the time being before looking over to see Hera walking out into the rain on the other side of the courtyard, shielding herself from it before walking out toward me.

"She looks comfortable..." Looking at Krystallo, still dead asleep on my back, she spoke with an oddly motherly tone.

"She got some things off her chest." Glancing back at her, I straightened my posture a bit before laying down, lowering my head to be at the level of Hera's shrunken form.

"That's good... She has some troublesome years ahead of her..." Pausing, her gaze quickly turned to me. "In any case, what brought you to the cabinet? I thought you were starting the festival in Atlas."

"Well, I actually had a question." She immediately tilted her head as I spoke. "Did you ever go to a festival like this when you were younger?"

Promptly nodding, she gently sat down. "I was usually in charge of managing the events. It feels nice to not have that responsibility this time..."

-I see...- Looking up into the underside of the dark cloud as well, I paused before continuing more softly. "Then, do you want to experience the festival from a different angle this time? Technically I'm still young, so I was planning on going with Krystallo, but I'd like for you to come along as well if you think it's something you'd enjoy."

Lowering her gaze to me, a warm smile crept across her face. "Of course, I would. It'll give me a chance to check out some of the areas of Bahamut I haven't been in a dozen millennia, and..." Creeping up to me, she gently pressed herself into my chest. "I don't mind having an excuse to spend more time with you."

Seeing her smug look, I felt my chest grow warm. "Haha, alright." Gently lowering my head and nuzzling her with my snout, I spoke warmly. "Then I'll do my best to make sure it's worthwhile."

"Haha, alright. I'll look forward to it~."