Chapter 56

Mildian Arc – End


Lahar


My associates from the magic council were running around the mansion trying to get it set up for our next operation. It was a very nice building that we were generously given use of by the President of the Heart Kruez Corporation. Heart Kruez was a well-known company that created a variety of magical equipment. Their current president is someone I am quite intimate with.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Came a woman's voice, "Put that back where you found it!"

"Uh, but…"

I looked up top at the staircase and found a beautiful blue haired woman shouting at one of the rune knights. In his hand was an antique vase with a draconic symbol on it. The woman shouting at the Rune Knight was none other than Wendelyn Marvell, the president of Heart Kruez, and my girlfriend.

"Just put it back!" I yelled up to the Rune Knight.

The Rune Knight bowed to me and ran away. He probably had a good reason for moving it, but Wendelyn could be quite scary when she got angry. Plus, this was her house, and we had to respect that.

"Thank you, dear!" Wendelyn called down to me, in a much kinder tone of voice.

I smiled back up to her as she walked down to meet me in the foyer.

"You're sure that this is the best location for your operation?" She asks.

"It's just a little over a mile away from where we believe our target is located." I explain to her, "This will give us a nice home base to operate out of."

"And what if Oracion Seis attacks?"

I raised an eyebrow at Wendelyn. The exact nature of this mission was meant to be kept a secret. Only the Magic Council of Ishgar, myself, the Rune Knights on hand, and the chosen Guild Masters were aware of the specifics of this mission.

"How did you?"

Wendelyn cut me off before I could respond, "You don't really think I would let this place be used without knowing what for, do you? I have connections in high places. Perhaps even higher than yours."

Wendelyn gave a light laugh. I knew that Wendelyn had some connections with the old Fiorean Magic Council. Perhaps she had a connection with Org? He was recently promoted to the Ishgar Magic Council, which was an even larger achievement due to the Tower of Heaven Incident. After the Fiorean Magic Council was disbanded, almost all of the Council Members dropped out of politics. It was even more surprising to hear Siegrain dropped out of politics. He made quite the name for himself before this.

"Regardless, that's why we reached out to some of the best guilds in the land for help." I informed her.

"Why not the Wizard Saints?"

I smiled knowingly at her, "The guilds we reached out to have members of the Ten Wizard Saints among their ranks."

"But why didn't you just reach out to the Wizard Saints themselves?"

"We can't just send Wizard Saints out on missions like this. We don't have a good grasp on the strength of our enemies and having multiple Wizard Saints present could have cataclysmic consequences. The guild masters will be able to brainstorm the best way to move forward. We're relying on them to put together the best team for the job."

"That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"What?"

"That having multiple Wizard Saints present can be cataclysmic. These people aren't going to end the world as we know it."

I took a deep breath and exhaled, "Look, their power is dangerous. We have to be careful when sending them into battle."

Wendelyn rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

There was a lull in the conversation as a blue haired maid walked in with a lacrima in hand. It looked like there was a man on the phone.

"Ms. Marvell, there's someone on the lacrima for you."

She looked over to her maid in boredom, "Who is it?"

"He says his name is William Neville."

Wendelyn raised an eyebrow at that, "Give me it", she said as she snatched the lacrima out of the maid's hands.

She turned her attention to the magical orb in her hand, and in a cheery voice said, "William, it's been too long!"

"Wendelyn…" the man on the other end didn't sound nearly as enthused as she did.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She said, putting an emphasis on pleasure, much to my displeasure.

"It's about…Katja."

The whole time she was on the lacrima, she held a cheery smile. The moment that name was mentioned though, it disappeared from her face.

"What about her?"

"We had just met a young girl."

"And?"

"Her resemblance to Katja is…uncanny." He continued.

"It's probably just a coincidence."

The man went quiet for a moment before saying, "Would it also be a coincidence that she shares your last name?"

Wendelyn closed her eyes for a moment, "Are you trying to insinuate that Katja had a sister that I hid from you?"

"Did you?"

Wendelyn cracked a devious smile, one even I got nervous around, "Would her name be Wendy by any chance?"

"Yes."

Wendelyn chuckled to herself, only serving to make me more uneasy, "I'd advise you to keep a distance from her. She isn't like Katja, she strong and more like her mother than you could ever imagine."

"What do you mean?"

"I couldn't leave her with you. She was too special. I had to get her…a special tutor."

"You gave her to a dragon!?"

Now that surprised both me and the maid! I had heard rumors of dragons flying around adopting kids. One particular dragon slayer comes to mind. Did Wendelyn really get contact with a dragon to teach her kid? More importantly, did she really have kids? She never mentioned them before.

"Oh, so you know about Grandine?"

"She told me as much." William seemed to be growing more aggravated, "Why did you keep her secret from me?"

"Like I said, she was too dangerous to keep around. She inherited some…things that had to be handled properly. Grandine offered her assistance, and I couldn't refuse."

"I can't believe you." William said through gritted teeth.

"What, it's not like she's your responsibility."

"And she isn't yours either, is she?"

Wendelyn rolled her eyes, "Just don't interfere with her. You will come to regret it."

With that, Wendelyn hung up the lacrima and gave it back to her maid.

I had to ask her, "Do you really have kids?"

"Yeah." She replied, nonchalantly.

"Why haven't you mentioned them before?"

Wendelyn stepped up closer to me and ran her fingers down my chest, "I didn't think it was that important?"

I grabbed her hand and moved it away, "That's a pretty big thing."

Wendelyn took a deep breath, "They're all taken care of."

"Why would you give one to a dragon?"

She looked at me with puppy dog eyes as she told me, "I wasn't kidding. She needed someone like Grandine to take care of her."

I softened up as she showed me a more vulnerable side. I decided it was best to just leave it there. I didn't want to start a fight with her right before a mission. Especially when she was giving us so much assistance. This conversation would have to wait until after the mission. Until then, we still had a lot of prep to work on.


Just who is this Wendelyn who claims to be Wendy's mother? What was wrong with Wendy that she had to be given over to Grandine?

Thank you for reading! Unfortunately, I will have to put this story on a short hiatus. I don't have the chapters for the next arc finished as I had gotten very busy in these last few months. Fortunately, my schedule is opening up again and I will have more time to write and churn out chapters. I hope you understand.

In the meantime, please review! I would love to hear about any comments or questions you have about the story.