It was the middle of the day at the Royal Palace Of Tristania in Tristain, and things were not exactly calm after the official end of the war.
Many people, who are mostly commoners, were gathered outside of the palace's gates, with the guards stationed there trying to calm them down, as the former were yelling their many questions and demands.
"Why the Storyteller's people vanished? Was the Storyteller angered by something her Highness did? We want answers!" And some more that were the overall concerns of the people, who thus far were denied any access and answer.
Not that they could be blamed, knowing the importance of the Storyteller on their kingdom.
Within the palace, and inside the throne room, Queen Henrietta is seen seated upon her throne, part of her chin resting upon her palm which's elbow is supported upon the throne's arm, saddened, and obviously lacking proper sleep after the experience she went through the last day, with her Captain of the Musketeers Agnes standing before her with pieces of paper at hand, informing her of the latest reports.
"So far, the Storyteller's body hasn't been found among the dead on the location the battle took place, nor anywhere around said location. A true massacre that battle was, many of the bodies were in such a condition that some of our men actually fainted just from the sight of it all." The blond woman recalls mostly the last part in disbelief after seeing the battlefield herself, before clearing her throat to bring her focus back as she proceeds with the rest of the report. "Anyway, we are still on the search in order to find out what exactly happened to him. Finally, we have confirmed that indeed all of his people have vanished from both Tristain and Albion, except for the mainly gold and in large amount of coins, the road-cleaning carriage-looking contraptions, the trees that produce the cocoa beans, and the entirety of the factory responsible for the production of chocolate bars. In other words, everything that was not a person remained for reasons we have yet to figure out."
Agnes then looks at her Queen. "Thankfully, despite the factory's personnel vanishing, a lot of our people were visiting enough to have a good knowledge as to how each contraption within operates, so we will be able to proceed with the chocolate bar production soon, which should still be more than enough to keep Tristain at the best interests for trading with other-"
"What point there is to any of it." Henrietta interrupts her, before turning her head to the side, too depressed to truly listen to anything, as tears begin to form. "He will still not be there with us. Not anymore..."
"Your Highness..." The blond woman trails off while filled with emotion, and lowers her head, frustrated for seeing her like this.
She hopes her Queen will get over it soon, no matter the pain she is going through. Again.
~At Londinium, Capital Of Albion~
At specific parts of the Albionian island now flow Gallian flags, a sign of Gallia's conquest, whose army came the last moment to take the Reconquista territories that were still resisting, ending the war between those and the Tristain-Germania alliance, with the reason for the said conquest of the last moment, being them offering a hand of assistance, if that can be believed.
What happens with the conquered Albion, whether the territories will be split between the three kingdoms, or giving it its independence under the rule of a Noble from within who will prove an acceptable ruler, is yet to be discussed, due to the kingdom's rebuilding having priority.
At the Royal Palace Of Londinium now, the scene shows gates opening for Sheffield, as she enters the throne room where the King of Gallia awaits seated upon the Albionian throne.
She kneels before him, feeling ashamed for a specific reason. "My master Joseph. I have no words for appearing before you without the Ring Of Andvari. The Storyteller has proven far more cunning than I could anticipate."
"Raise your head, Sheffield." He orders her calmly, with her doing so as she gazes upon his boldly smiling face and cyan colored, short hair and small beard, showing no signs of disappointment, or really caring about the part where she failed him at all. "Give me your full report."
She smiles and blushes at what he considers as his forgiveness toward her.
The next scene shows the two moving at a different location inside the palace, walking downstairs, and then through a hallway filled with lit torches and locked doors, which makes rather obvious the fact it is a dungeon, while the pale woman was giving to her king on the way her full report as asked.
"He indeed used his rune's magic back at South Gotha to prevent the acid from spreading across the city according to my spies. But even with that advantage of his out of the way, he was still strong enough to call forth an army of unimaginable proportions, and turn the snowy field into a desert one, no less. Unfortunately, I couldn't have a clear image about what kind of army he summoned, due to the sand the battle itself was scattering all around. There is one thing I was sure about, though. It was complete chaos." She tells him.
"Complete chaos indeed." Joseph simply agrees himself, making her turn her head toward him as she understands he must have been informed about some details somehow which she doesn't possess, before he elaborates. "The army I have sent to lend a helping hand into stopping the Reconquista, which was ours from the beginning, was able to capture the few who were lucky enough to survive against the Storyteller's army. They all talked about monsters, abominations, and complete horrors. Many of them died soon after or during the interrogations from the shock of reliving the experience they went through, while some others were already mad beyond repair."
That moment they stop as soon as they hear a blood-curdling scream, with a few a bit lower in volume screams following it soon after, coming from a single source through a closed door not to far from their location.
"And it appears by what I hear, the one I was planning to personally interrogate might be one as such." The Gallian King understands, a small smile forming on his face for a short moment as they both walk toward the door.
Once the pale woman opens the door for them to enter, they see a Gallian guard trying to verbally calm down a man, who is heavily stitched and patched up due to injuries, which most likely received on that battlefield, and tied by his limbs with chains connected to the wall and floor as he stands there, while flailing about till the point the said chains allow him to, screaming and wailing as he does so.
The guard finally notices his king, and appears troubled. "My lord, you have come! I'm sorry for all this ruckus, this one is just not calming down no matter the dosage we give him!"
"THE MONSTERS ARE COMING, THEY ARE COMING I TELL YOU! THEY WILL RIP-OFF OUR FACES AND WEAR THEM AS THEIRS! EAT US WHILE ALIVE AND LET THE ONES STILL OUTSIDE HEAR OUR SCREAMS OF AGONY FROM INSIDE OF THEIR STOMACHS! THEY WILL CRUSH US BENEATH THEIR GIANT FEET AND HOOVES LIKE WHEAT, CHOP US IN WAYS THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST, BURN US IN FIRES ONLY HELL COULD PRODUCE, DROWN US IN OCEANS FULL OF SALT-WATER, TEETH, AND TENTACLES!" The Albionian soldier screams while keeping on trying to free himself, causing many of his wounds to open up and begin bleeding again as he doesn't cease his continuous attempt for even a second, showing the full extent of the madness going through his head by the horrible ways he witnessed many of his comrades go through before death.
Sheffield watches with a cold sweat obvious upon the side of her head, not quite unnerved by the ramblings of the mad soldier, but it will be a lie to says she does not feel unnerved enough to be obvious, while also one of the rare times she feels somewhat bad for someone, with King Joseph so far not appearing to feel in any way for the said man.
The Gallian guard slowly approaches the maddened man, wanting to try and calm him down. "Now, now, you have been through a lot, let us just calm down and patch your-"
"I WON'T FACE THOSE HORRORS AGAIN- YOU WON'T FORCE ME TO!" The Albionian Soldier interrupts, with the last part being more of a shriek than a scream this time, while struggling with his iron bonds harder and harder, resulting at the part of the wall that was keeping the chain of his right arm to be damaged enough to break there, giving the freedom of that limb to force toward the approaching guard, grab the sheathed knife by the latter's belt, with the move catching him off-guard, remove it from his possession, and with a single, quick movement stabs and slices his own neck, causing some pitches of blood to be thrown at the king's face, as the maddened man chokes in his own pool of blood, with him a moment later smiling weakly, giving an impression of relief written all over his face, before finally succumbing to his mortal wound, and dies there, hanging by his remaining chains as the knife falls off his now unresponsive hand.
The king's guard looks at the man who just killed himself in front of him with shock, while the pale woman has her eyes slightly more widen at the whole thing.
And as for the Gallian King, he remains emotionless for a while longer, just before a single tear falls from one of his eyes, being moved emotionally at the greatly sad display, only to then smile widely, and a bit wickedly. "Now this is one of the feelings I was looking for."
After that, the next scene shows the two exiting from the dungeon as they walk upstairs.
"Some of the ones from before also said about a great explosion that took nearly everyone with it, including the Storyteller." Joseph informs the pale woman, his words making obvious the fact he expects confirmation.
"That is true, I can confirm what they saw." Sheffield tells him, while unsure about a specific part in the following report. "It happened suddenly in the middle of it all, a powerful magic of some kind pulling everything toward it, before exploding, and ending the battle there. Either something went wrong with a spell he attempted to cast, or it was an outside intervention by a force of some kind. Those are the theories I can think of, that is."
"I see." The Gallian King understands, before looking at her. "Speaking of outside interventions, what of the one who assisted you at South Gotha?"
The pale woman smiles cunningly, having already planned for that. "I have men searching for him all around Albion. If he is here, he will be found."
Joseph smiles pleased with that as he turns his sight forward. "Good. Anyone who possesses enough power or any other unique means that can prove important to my cause, is worth my time."
As they keep on walking, something appears to be in his mind, and stops where he is, with her stopping just as soon. "You believe he survived?"
"The Storyteller?" Sheffield questions, and then thinks about it carefully, wanting to ensure of every known detail regarding that being. "Normally I would say that no one could survive that kind of explosive power. But he has already proven more than once that he is not one to be underestimated when it comes to the impossible."
"If he is as much as he was saying he is, then we shall hear of him again soon enough." The Gallian King says, before another bold smile forms on his face, showing the possibility that he expects as much, before looking at her. "Prepare a team to go visit the Lagdorian Lake. Knowing the Storyteller's diligence, the Ring Of Andvari is more than likely to be in the Water Spirit's possession again. Retrieve it for me as you did before."
The pale woman with a smile bows before him. "It will be done, Master Joseph."
~Meanwhile At Tristain's Academy Of Magic~
The courtyard was filled with many of the female students who were awaiting, as some of the male students were already back from the army, who since the war was over, their services were no longer necessary, allowing them to return where they were meant be.
A lot of hugs take place there, greeting their closest, and now heroes who returned safe and sound.
But of course, that is not the case with everyone.
Within a very known room, Louise is seen kneeling at the side of the bed, her face upon the blanket while weeping in her great sadness that was caused by the loss of her one true love, while holding between her arms and chest the small magic book she was given by him, as Siesta, Kirche and Charlotte are seen seated by the floor next to her, with the former two having placed a comforting hand upon the pink-haired girl's back, while tears are obvious upon their faces too.
"It is all my fault. My fault..." Louise trails off between her weeps, blaming herself for all of this.
"Come now, Louise, you shouldn't blame yourself." Kirche tells her, her voice a bit heavy from the weeps she went through herself earlier, as she tries to remain composed for her friend.
The pink-haired girl lifts her front, and turns to her with a hurtful expression. "Should not?! I am the one who casted the spell that drained the last of his magic! The one who forced him to stay immobile upon that battlefield! The very reason he was unable to avoid whatever was that which killed him!"
She then places her forehead down upon the bed's side once more. "And now we will never see him again." Finishes while proceeding to weep like before, unable to handle the pain of loss that she feels, which the redhead and the rest understand very well.
Siesta looks downward. "I still cannot believe Aristidis is gone. He always gave the impression he was so..."
"Invincible." Charlotte completes the expected thought, before she too brings her sight downward from the sadness the truth they are facing brings. "And I always hoped nothing will ever change that image."
The redhead reaches with both arms at the three, and pulls them softly close to her. "Girls, I know things are truly awful right now, and I understand the pain you all go through. But we must have the strength to endure and move forward. It's what he'd want to." She says the last one while squeezing them a bit closer to her embrace, the emotion slowly overtaking her like the rest, as all of them now grief together for the one they have lost.
The pink-haired girl can also understand now that he is gone, the spells from her book she will never be able to cast again.
But she does not care about that, one bit.
She only wants Aristidis back...
After some more seconds pass like that, a blackened, round and swirling portal suddenly manifests next to them, drawing their startled attention, right before through it comes out the pitch-black Storyteller Aristidis, who is currently being hold slightly above the floor by a pitch-black hand from the skin of his neck, like a cat, yes, which reveals to belong to the black-cloaked/M-hooded Kremant, who passes only halfway through the said portal, which causes a great deal of shock to the girls as they watch with wide open eyes.
Kremant lets him fall onto his feet, as the latter turns to him, with the former looking at him with slight annoyance as he then proceeds to point a finger at him. "And remember what we said. Don't let me catch you attempting to break the new rule. Watching you." Says at the end while entering through his portal again, with it vanishing as soon.
Aristidis turns around while taking out from behind him with a hand his Tome, while with the other undusts his chests a bit, his face showing his own annoyance as he looks with half an eye to where Kremant was.
As he looks forward normally, he notices the four girls seated upon the floor next to the bed, who keep on looking at him with shock, before opening his arms wide happily. "My good ladies!"
"Aristidis!" All of them yell in unison while getting up, and throw themselves onto him, causing him to lose balance and fall back on the floor together with them.
"Aristidis, you are alive! Thank Kremant you are alright!" Louise yells absolutely happy and relieved as tears fall from her eyes, with the rest sharing the feeling.
The mouthless Storyteller chuckles amused. "Now, now, why that reaction? It is not as if I died or something like that."
The pink-haired girl, and the rest once more, pushes herself back with wide open eyes of surprise. "Y-You did not?!"
He just looks at them for a bit, and then his expression turns kind. "Let me tell you what happened over some tea."
~Many Hours Earlier~
A long flashback begins playing, which begins with the black hole's great explosion, and the unconscious body of the Storyteller being thrown kilometers away, before falling harshly upon the grassy ground there, and facedown right next to a tree, just outside of a forest.
His legs a few seconds after, began to melt at a relatively fast pace, showing that it will not take long for his life to come to its complete end.
That is when Kremant comes out of nowhere from off the screen, stands next to him for a moment, and then takes him in his arms by the parts of the legs that remain and back, before teleporting elsewhere.
The time moves on, as the scene moves to a cottage within a thick forest, and then inside to show Aristidis upon a bed, just before his eyes open quickly and wide.
He proceeds to look around from where he lies, the scene showing his legs having regenerated back to normal as if he never lost them, and his eyes stop at the very-well-known black-cloaked man seated on a chair next to the bed, much to the former's surprise.
"Hope you had pleasant dreams, sleeping beauty-wannabe." Kremant tells him in a semi-amused-sarcastic manner.
The Storyteller sits up, and sweat drops troubled. "Oh no, tell me I did not die in the end."
"You did not." The now serious-looking black-cloaked man tells him as he folds his own arms. "I made sure the explosion was not powerful enough for that to happen. Long story short, I didn't quite like how you used that one's power to have infinite summons, so I put a stop to that, before you end up exploiting the hell out of that loophole, by telling to the said exploit to deliver you the penalty you were owed. Very smart of you, and I actually commend you for it, but consider this as a new rule to not break." Says the last part while raising the Tome with a hand, before putting it upon the latter's thighs.
"Oh..." Aristidis trails off while looking downward, understanding now what that explosive black hole was about.
Kremant points with his thumb at the blond girl the blonde girl standing behind of the bed's foot, with the scene moving enough to reveal her, and who is still wearing her hat. "By the way, SHE is the one who healed and brought you back from death's door."
The girl staters upon being mentioned, and shyly moves a bit closer to greet Aristidis, with compassion being obvious in her following words. "H-Hello. I really hope you are feeling a lot better now after what you went through. It must have felt really awful."
The pitch-black Storyteller's eyes widen at the encounter, looks at her up and down carefully, and then his expression turns slightly seductive. "Now that I have gazed upon you, certainly a lot better indeed, my fair lady."
The blonde one smiles in a grateful manner, taking the cunning compliment as him simply being nice.
That response of hers is not quite what Aristidis expected, but helps him to understand with what type of character he is dealing with here, and then with a very kind expression clasps both his hands over the Tome at his thighs. "May I have the name of my kind healer?"
"My name is Tiffania." She answers happily.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady." The mouthless Storyteller compliments, before putting a hand upon his chest, and lifts his head slightly upward out of pride. "And of course, you most definitely have heard of me already. Aristidis the Storyteller, very pleased to meet you, dear Tiffania."
Tiffania softly gasps out of surprise, before her expression turns astonished. "YOU are THE Storyteller? I've always heard from the people of the village nearby all sort of rumors about you. Like having skin that makes that of a Germanian pale in comparison-"
"Obviously true." He interrupts while indicating with a hand proudly the pitch-black color of his skin.
She continues unbothered. "-you having no mouth, but able to speak nonetheless-"
"A bit surprised you did not comment about it earlier, to be honest." Aristidis interrupts again as he folds his arms out of mild surprise toward the unexpected to him fact, but later guesses that Kremant probably explained to her that part.
The blonde girl continues like before. "-and how stories and fairytales come to life through your book-"
"Tome." The Storyteller interrupts one final time while bringing a stop-sign hand up, as appears serious about that specific part, before folding his arms again. "Let us not confuse one with the other."
Tiffania tilts her head, and puts a finger at her cheek confused. "What is the difference?"
Aristidis lifts a finger up as he proceeds to kindly explain. "A Tome is a bigger and heavier version of a book. I know, technically still a book, but I believe it is important to pay attention to details as to avoid possible and silly confusions." Says the last part with a shrug.
"Ah, I see." The blonde girl understands as she smiles, and then puts both hands together again. "In any case, it's amazing how you can do that."
She stays as she for a short moment, before taking a step closer, with childlike curiosity obvious in her face. "How can you do that? Is it some sort magic? Are you a different kind of human from a kingdom far far away that has not been heard of from before? Is it true that you actually wear nothing but a cape? How can you even talk if you have no mouth? Is that man... I want to say your father?" She asks the last one with some hesitation while looking at the black-cloaked man next to him, due to them appearing similar, but still unsure if that is the case.
The mouthless Storyteller lifts a finger, ready to correct the last one first. "Actually, he is not-"
"Quite enough from you, young man!" A serious Kremant interrupts him while at the same time grabs and pulls him by the ear, much to the latter's pained surprise and displeasure, with the former now appearing, as he comes on screen, to be wearing all of a sudden a small pair of thin glasses before his eyes, a simple, white apron on his front, and an also white, cute ribbon tied at one of the hood's tips, making himself appear as a stereotypical, modern yet old fashioned housewife/mother.
Tiffania in the meantime wonders much to her confusion where he found those clothes, and when he even changed without her notice.
He then pulls him off the bed and walk him that way toward the closest door. "You two may talk again at another time. For now you may consider yourself grounded metaphorically and literally- but ESPECIALLY metaphorically. For the rest of the day at the Academy, obviously. You better think well of what you did during that time, mah boy. Very well."
"I will be seeing you one of the following day~s!" Aristidis somewhat yells that at the blonde girl while trying not to yell higher due to the pulled ear's pain as a blackened portal opens on their way, with her waving a goodbye hand at them while sweat dropping and smiling awkwardly at the scene.
~Back To The Present And Academy~
As the long flashback officialy ends, the scene shows the pitch-black Storyteller seated by the table along with Louise, Siesta, Kirche and Charlotte, as they are served tea by the maid Cinderella, while the former was just finishing on talking about the part. "And that is what happened. Still, I cannot believe he treated me in such a manner. I mean, yes, I understand what I did was rather cheaty, but not really against the rules. Talk about unfair." Says the last part a bit annoyed while folding his arms.
Kirche is confused about something. "But, why do that to you, love? Couldn't he just come before you, and simply tell you to not do it like that?"
He puts a hand on his chin in a thinking manner. "The more likely reasons I can think of, are either to teach me in valuing what I have better, or simply for content's sake."
"Huh?" The four ladies utter rather confused at the last one, having no idea as to what means by content.
"See it as the idea of him not liking how extreme that exploiting action of mine was, because it was going massively against the plan he had for me from the beginning, hence why he put it in the list of what-Aristidis-is-not-allowed-to-do." Aristidis elaborates, before proceeding to take ahold with both hands his cup, and drink from his tea. "At least I don't have it as bad as Dr. Bright on that."
"That would be so ridiculously unnecessary and selfish of him, if that second one is indeed the case!" Louise tells him with a sweat drop, while the rest look at each other confused with the Dr. Bright part, and then smiles as she puts a hand upon her chest while sighing with relief. "Other than that, I am so glad you are alive and that it was not my fault what happened..."
Aristidis points a finger at her. "You are still responsible for emptying my magical amount. I could die from that in the case the scenario was different."
"You did not check the amount before casting anything like I told you to, did you?" He asks while raising an eyebrow, and then with a surprised and mildly frustrated expression moves his hands to the side before him. "What the heck, pupil Louise?"
The pink-haired girl looks at him for a moment, before turning to the side with her arms folded, while closing her eyes and appearing intransigent. "Well, maybe I would not try to do that, if you did not play that trick on me the last day, and make me lose my normally good focus because of it."
"And you can understand that I did so, so you will not have to come face to face with a new trauma from the horrors of the Tome." The pitch-black Storyteller explains once more as he folds his arms himself.
The rest of the girls sweat drop as they see the conversation turning easily into a fight.
Louise snaps her head at him, obviously upset now as she looks at him. "And I told that I would not let those horrors scare and prevent me from helping you just like that! You know that I am far more-"
"Hey, cutie, wanna play a game with me?" A gray-skinned, female elf with spiky, BDSM-looking uniform suddenly interrupts as she asks her in a quick manner while leaning forward before her view, and smiling in a very sinister and enthusiastic manner as she does so.
The pink-haired girl screams and runs right behind her close friends almost instantly out of absolute fear as soon as she recognizes the elf as one of the Drukhari, and proceeds to tremble and stutter while peeking through the group at the said elf.
The Drukhari at the moment was giggling playfully while moving her fingers up and down individually before herself, as if really looking forward to get her vile hands at the girl, with the whole appearance screaming stranger danger, only for Aristidis to strike the former hard at the back of her head with his closed Tome, resulting in the sinister elf crumbling to dust a second after, and to nothingness two or three seconds after that.
He then places the Tome back down at the table, and folds his arms while looking at the scared girl, waiting for something.
After a short moment, Louise finds her composure enough, and pouts as she sighs defeated. "Fine, I get your point, sorry..."
Kirche proceeds with a hand to pet Louise on the head in a comforting manner, as she and the rest smile awkwardly at the girl.
Siesta turns to Aristidis. "I-In any case, dear, that girl Tiffania saved your life! We should go there and give her a proper thank you."
"We ARE going to visit her once we have the chance." The pitch-black Storyteller tells while pointing with a kind expression a finger at her, before taking out with a hand from behind him his phone. "But first, we have a Queen we need to visit, and first and foremost inform of my well-being."
~At The Royal Palace Of Tristania~
Queen Henrietta was alone in her room, seated upon the foot of her bed.
A chance to relax for at least a moment, before needing to resume her duties once more.
Frankly, she would prefer if they could all just leave her alone for the day, so she may mourn properly for her secret love.
The love that was once more lost.
She brings with her hands just above her covered-by-the-skirt thighs the phone that was given to her by Aristidis, looking at it as she remembers all of the caster's precious moments they spent together.
Henrietta's eyes fill with tears, before she turns herself to fall face-down upon the bed, her face specifically upon the pillow that was placed at that point from before, and begins crying quietly, letting out her pain of loss once more.
Then, all of a sudden, the phone she was holding lights up, as the ringtone Land Of Confusion, by Disturbed, begins to sound from it, making her snap her head back up to look at it with startled surprise, with said surprise while the song continues turning into shocking realization, as she slowly moves herself into a sitting position like before.
When eventually finding some of her composure, she quickly presses the button to answer the call, puts it upon her ear, and after a short moment of hesitation and disbelief, she utters his name. "A... Aristidis?"
(=You did not think I will go away just like that, now did you?=) Aristidis asks playfully through the phone, making obvious that he has enough knowledge of what she was going through.
"I..." The Queen begins as she tries to focus her thoughts as she wipes her tears, overwhelmed with happiness upon understanding that he is alive, a smile now obvious on her face. "I did not want to believe..."
As she fully finds her composure now, it is obvious she has a lot of questions to ask. "What-"
"I will explain the story to you as well once we are all there during the next day's midday." The mouthless Storyteller interrupts while explaining, with the scene moving back to him and the rest of the group at the Academy, and then sweat drops. "I would come immediately, but let us just say for now that Kremant wants me nowhere outside of the Academy till that time."
"By the way, you have greetings from everyone." He says as he moves his phone before his four ladies, with them somewhat yelling their greetings in response for her to hear, which makes her feel all the more touched.
Aristidis puts the phone back on his ear as he proceeds to continue. "Anyway, i am aware that all of the people of my Tome have vanished from Tristania and the rest of the kingdom, no? Well, worry not! After I deal with another small issue, Atom Eve will be back in helping you increase those supplies like before, along with everyone else of importance from the Tome, of course. But for now, the two people you also know should suffice. We will be seeing you, your Majesty!"
The scene moves back to the palace, and the royal bedroom, just as the phone-call ends, before all of a sudden a startled yell outside of the door draws Henrietta's attention, and then a second later a knock on her door sounds, only for it to open soon after to show the old man with the greenish clothing, and the big belly, that is Iroh, along with his son Lu Ten from ATLA, with Agnes and the ones standing as guards right behind the two having a really surprised expression on their faces upon witnessing the out of nowhere appearance they witnessed happening off the screen.
He and his son bow respectfully and with a smile before her. "We truly hope our absence did not cause too much trouble for you, your Highness."
Henrietta looks at the two for a moment, and then stands up while proceeding to smile emotionally moved. "No, it did not. Welcome back. Welcome back all of you."
~Officially Now Back At The Academy~
"Small issue?" Charlotte repeats the words while asking Aristidis confused, after the scene cuts back to the Academy Of Magic, with the rest being the same way.
"What do you mean- what is wrong and you can't send Atom Eve her way?" Louise then asks him concerned, wondering what is this about now.
"I checked-" The pitch-black Storyteller begins as he turns to them, with the skin on his forehead uncovering his rune, which now shows pieces of it having vanished, much to everyone else's surprise. "And it appears my A rune is slowly vanishing."
"Wh-Why does it do that?" The pink-haired girl asks highly troubled, understanding that without it, not only he will no longer count as her Familiar, which is frankly the least of the problems she can think of, but he will also not be able to have access to his daily most powerful summons anymore.
"The most likely case I can imagine, is that because I was EXTREMELY close to death, the magic bond that kept the two of us connected through the Familiar Contract, was broken, or is in the process of breaking, and thus, the reason it turned out like this." He theorizes while pointing a finger at his partially-vanished rune.
Everyone looks at each other after a moment, understanding the issue now, but then wondering if it is an issue at all, taking into consideration he is not a normal Familiar and all.
As they look at him again, the redhead is the one to ask the following. "So, it will be problematic for you if it vanishes completely, or..."
"Not quite." Aristidis begins with a kind expression. "I mean, yes, while in this state, I cannot use it to make overwhelmingly powerful summons. BUT, considering how most of my magic is locked because of the Familiar Contract to begin with, by logic, if we let it break completely, that should allow me to earn it all back. In other words, your world will witness earlier than expected the true power of the Storyteller, and the chaotic goodness that comes with it!" He finishes enthusiastically with a spin while having both hands raised as he faces upward, the very thought making him feel gloriously amazing, with the girls' own enthusiasm raising as they utter about upon understanding that, and really looking forward to.
"No, no." Kremant who appears right behind him while off the screen tells Aristidis with a wagging finger, startling everyone with his sudden reappearance, before moving between them with both hands behind his own back as he looks at the latter. "Don't be so quick to celebrate."
"Wait, then you mean..." The Storyteller trails off disappointed as he understands what his mentor is trying to tell him.
The black-cloaked man turns to him normally as he proceeds with his explanation. "Exactly as you can guess. Breaking the contract that way, will not bring your full potential back, and if you let the rune vanish in the way it does now, it will only serve in you losing its highly helpful ability."
Aristidis is suddenly seen next to the closed window, moved there while of the screen in some way that was not shown, and looking outside through it in a melancholic manner. "My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined."
The four girls get up from their seats, and walk next to him, placing a hand on his shoulders or rubbing his back, wanting to comfort him a bit from the disappointment he feels.
"D-Don't worry, you will be able to show the people everything you are to show them, eventually, dear." Siesta reassures him somewhat awkwardly.
"Yeah!" Louise agrees, and then lets out a small sighs as she looks at the rest with mild disappointment. "But I suppose we better focus on how to return the rune back to normal for now."
"Actually..." Kremant trails off as he brings attention to him, his expression now mischievous. "What if I told you there WAS a sure way for your full power to come back to you without much effort, and allow you to do ALL the things you were denied all this time here?"
"There is?!" The pink-haired girl exclaims as the rest of the girls gasp from the surprise.
The pitch-black Storyteller though, raises an eyebrow while appearing a bit wary, due to the way Kremant brought that up.
It's not that he doesn't trust him, but he knows cunning attitude when he sees one. "And what that miniscule effort you speak of is?"
"Simple. All you have to do... Is end her life." The black-cloaked man says while showing his shark-toothed grin as he points after a small pause a finger at the pink-haired girl, shocking everyone as a result.
All except the Storyteller, who simply looks at his mentor with a neutral expression for an unknown reason.
"It is not just the magic in the contract. I made it so that her very existence is what binds your power." Kremant explains, and then begins to walk from one side of the room to the other at a slow pace, his face showing his glee. "Quite the dilemma, is it not? You could wait till you find all the remaining objects holding access to your missing power. O~r simply kill dear pinkie here, and have it all back right now, giving you the freedom to show the world who the Storyteller truly is about."
Almost as soon as he says all that, he moves in the blink of an eye right in front of the unfazed Storyteller, but still startling the others with that sudden movement, the former's completely red eyes twinkling for a moment to show his sinister excitement. "What's gonna be, Aristidis? Make your choic-"
"Are you seriously attempting with me a cliché like that?" Aristidis interrupts while asking with a bored expression, before raising an eyebrow as he points with his hands at his own chest to indicate himself. "Like, with ME, of all people?"
"You know me too well to understand how much patience I have, and that I would obviously prefer to wait, than allow anyone who is truly precious to me, and to whom I have given my attention and care of all things, to be thrown away as if nothing special." He continues as he moves next to and then behind of Louise, and with a kind expression crouches down to her level while wrapping his arms around her neck and head in an endearing manner, causing her to blush and smile at both his flattering words, and the fact he did not even seem to consider Kremant's offer to sacrifice her, which is more than enough to move her greatly by his undeniable for her love, with the rest feeling the same way, since they know he would do/say the same for them in a similar situation.
The mouthless Storyteller looks again with a somewhat more serious face at Kremant, who begins as soon to chuckle seemingly amused for an unknown reason.
"I really love it when I hear such selfless answers, and look at such emotionally-filled filled moments." The black-cloaked man admits while appearing happy with him, before bringing forth his hands to indicate the Storyteller. "I never expect anything less from people like you. Truly an inspirational existence to keep on being proud of."
Aristidis's face turns to that of content, satisfied with what he seems to have expected to hear, with the rest being unsure with Kremant due to the sudden change in the situation's mood he provided, before unhanding as he straightens himself up normally while moving next to her, his attention still at his mentor. "Why even attempt to test my morals? You can read minds, after all."
As the girls look at Aristidis upon realizing all this was a test and nothing actually sinister, and the fact he understood that long before they do, the black-cloaked man shrugs while leaning a bit toward the side in a playful manner. "What can I say, I like challenging myself at times by NOT doing that, so the results of my little tests may feel to me a tiny bit more impactful."
The mouthless Storyteller folds his arms while showing a pleased face upon understanding his mentor's reasoning. "Ah I see, I understand what you mean. Self-handicapping is pretty common with overpowered entities. We have seen that example a few times together through the stories thus far, correct, girls?" He asks the last part as he turns his head toward the girls, who agree in response when understanding his point as well.
Charlotte then looks at the black-cloaked man, who had already straightened himself normally once more, an unexpected twinkle of small excitement obvious in the eyes of her expressionless face. "Will you now help fix his rune as a reward for passing your test, like in some of those stories we have seen/heard?"
Everyone, who can, smile awkwardly at her, due to forgetting just how much she likes stories of any kind, whether that is from books, Aristidis's Tome, or TV.
Kremant folds his arms while looking at her with some glee. "No reason to ask ME for something like that? For your wonderful Aristidis already had the answer for this little problem of his a few moments after he noticed it." He says the last part while pointing a finger at him.
As the girls look at him with surprise, the pitch-black Storyteller has a hand on his own chin in a thoughtful manner. "I see. So that thing I was thinking about."
"Exactly so." The black-cloaked man simply answers.
Aristidis then unhands his chin, and points a finger from the same hand at him. "The thing from THAT time."
"Exactly so!" Kremant answers once more, but this time somewhat more enthusiastically, and while grinning.
"What thing?!" Louise questions loudly, while having moved between them at an unknown time, quite upset due to not understanding what that thing talk is all about, before looking back and forth at the two. "Seriously, what are you talking about here?"
The pitch-black Storyteller turns to her with both his hands placed together as he points both index fingers at her. "Remember the first time we met, and how I became your Familiar?"
"Yeah...?" She trails off for a short moment, with her eyes then widening upon seemingly understanding what he means, which troubles her a bit. "Wait, the summoning ritual? B-But, if I attempt to summon you again, it might not even-"
"No, not that part, dearie." Aristidis interrupts her with a dismissive hand, and then with a kind expression proceeds with elaborating. "What if we simply repeat the binding spell you used on me after you summoned me?"
As the other three girls utter with some amazement at the idea he presented, the pink-haired girl just stands there for a moment, before putting a hand on her chin. "Huh. I never thought of that option. I mean, I technically summoned you already, so no one says it should not work if attempted."
She looks at him with enthusiasm as soon as she finishes that thought, with her hands formed into fists, and raised to the side due to said enthusiasm. "Let's do it!"
With that, the two are given the appropriate space in the middle of the room as they are watched by the rest of the group, Louise uses her wand while saying the spell's words, and then approaches Aristidis, and lovingly kisses him at the mouthless area, wrapping her arms around his neck as she does so, which they both properly enjoy this time.
The girls enjoy the cute to them scene, with Kremant chuckling quietly, whether that is for the same reason, or simply because he feels entertained.
Once the two finish and unhand each other, the A rune upon the Storyteller's forehead glows with a powerful light, before dissipating to reveal the said rune now being whole, just like it was before.
Siesta, and the rest, gasps elated with the result. "It worked! The rune is back to normal!"
Aristidis pompously raises his head upward. "And that is how the Storyteller proves his vast intellect once more, everyone. Nothing shocking to witness here."
Instead of sweat dropping at the usual show of his overwhelming arrogance, all four of the girls move close to hug him together with much of joy, and much to his own enjoyment, with his mentor doing the same in the same manner, his arms stretching enough to hug the group of five twice, which draws their confused attention due to not expecting Kremant's unexpected show of affection.
"That's my boy!" The black-cloaked man exclaims happily, and after a short moment of staying like that, he backs off a bit, and with a now mildly serious face points a finger at Aristidis, while still hugging them in the way described above. "You're still grounded, though."
After saying that, he vanishes from sight in the blink of an eye, with the girls somewhat startled at the sudden disappearing act, and with Aristidis looking down while groaning in childish disappointment.
As the girls unhand him and back off a bit, the pink-haired girl raises an eyebrow. "We spend most of our days in the academy, why even be bothered by that?"
"It is still not the best feeling being unjustly forced to do anything, you know. Not to mention how much I wanted to visit her Majesty as soon as possible, to receive my well-earned praise from her personally, and maybe even prepare us a grand celebration for our victory at Albion." The mouthless Storyteller explains while folding his arms and pouting, showing his disappointment further, with the girls smiling awkwardly at him, but not disagreeing. Everybody loves a good celebration.
Aristidis then remembers something, finding his composure as soon as he does, and slowly puts a hand close to his forehead, which begins to glow its powerful, summoning light. "And since I reminded myself of the fact..."
The scene cuts outside of the Royal Palace Of Tristania, where Queen Henrietta is seen along with her guards, Musketeers, and her two trusty Fire Nation personal bodyguards past the now open gate, as she tries to explain calmly to the city's folks that everything is indeed fine, and that there is nothing wrong with the Storyteller.
Then, something flying above catches the attention of a few, before with smiles and awe eventually everyone notices the lady in the pink uniform, Atom Eve, who stopped in midair for a moment to wave a hand at them, and soon after flies away to perform her usual duties to the kingdom of Tristain, while Henrietta much to her filled with surprise happiness understands that her beloved Aristidis was able to solve the issue he was talking about much earlier than expected, and thanks him on the inside for everything, like usual.
The scene moves back in the academy, and the known room, where the pitch-black Storyteller is now seen performing his usual act of magically covering his rune with the extra yet unnoticeable layer of skin upon his forehead. "There. Atom Eve is present, and ready to offer infinite resources like before."
"The Queen will be so happy when she sees her." Louise imagines happy, with the rest sharing that feeling.
"She is." Aristidis tells them, showing to have knowledge of the fact, possibly being told as much by Atom Eve herself via telepathy, and then remembers something else as he turns to them with a mildly curious expression. "By the way, since I forgot to ask the Queen about it and all, what news do you have about the war on Albion? You know, after I did my part. I can already guess how the war is more than likely over with, but necessary details are always a must."
After the four girls explain to him the details of what transpired at Albion after the great fight, the Storyteller folds his arms, his expression showing how unimpressed he is. "So, Gallia decided to finish off the remaining bits of Reconquista's resistance that were still present there, eh? And the way they refer to this as them giving a helping hand to the allies in ending the war. How bold of them to consider at such point themselves as being needed. The rebels were already at the end of their rope thanks to my intervention. The Gallian King could at the very least come up with a more believable excuse about his small scale conquest on Albion. That level of hypocrisy is almost as great as that of every non-native in America calling out others for illegal immigrations- aah who am I kidding, the latter one is far worse." Admits the last part with a sweat drop upon realizing the severity of it.
As the girls try to remember if they know about what reference he speaks of this time, a thought comes into Aristidis mind, and his face shows some of his amazement about what he proceeds to tell them, and drawing their attention as he does so. "Oh, by the way, that girl Tiffania I was talking about not too long ago, and without wanting to sound vulgar here, just stating a fact, also has a surprisingly big set upon her chest. Even bigger than Kirche's."
"Bigger than mine?!" Kirche exclaims shocked while putting both her own hands upon her chest, being in utter disbelief about hearing of someone having a bigger set than her, with the rest being almost as surprised about the fact.
The pink-haired girl upset and really confused with him, throws her hands up in response. "Wh-Why even mention something like that out of the blue?! You never cared before about how a girl's body looks!"
"I still do not as much as the next guy." The pitch-black Storyteller simply tells her, before his face turns to that of gleeful amusement as he puts both his hands together while looking upward to the side. "But the surprise in your faces was absolutely worth me mentioning it."
Louise growls angrily at him for that, Kirche was still looking at her own chest in disbelief, still not over the previous fact about Tiffania, with Siesta looking surprised at the second's chest for the same reason, and Charlotte looks down at her own, feeling a bit self-conscious for having none at all, and understandably so, for she is smaller than even the former.
Aristidis decides to approach and get between the four, and put his arms above their shoulders, drawing their attention, his expression jolly. "Aw come on, my ladies, why like that? You know that I love you all just as you are."
That instantly puts them at ease as they proceed to hug him while uttering affectionately, showing him the love he has shown them all this time, with him enjoying it just as much.
The pink-haired girl after a moment realizes something though, and pushes herself back as she draws attention on her that way, looking at him with a bored expression. "You plan to make that girl Tiffania part of the harem, don't you?"
"You know me SO well!" The mouthless Storyteller answers elated with both hands clasped together next to his head while breaking the group hug, with the other three girls appearing to not be surprised at all about that fact as they smile somewhat awkwardly for it.
As for Louise, she sighs as she puts for the moment a hand upon her forehead. "Well, not like there is any reason to stop you at this point or anything. Could see it as her earning her place for saving your life."
She then points a finger at him with much of seriousness. "Just don't be too pushy with her- you are known for your scary insistence."
"No promises are made." Aristidis answers playfully while folding his arms, causing her to roll her eyes, before moving past the girls to grab with a hand his Tome from the Table, and stops and crouches down before the TV to place the said Tome underneath in the shelf as he proceeds to connect the two through wires. "Now, since I will be pretty much stuck in one place for the day, who is ready to learn about a restaurant coming from another world, to a world similar like they one we are on? One thing for sure, it will make both your appetite, and heartwarming feels to reach great levels."
"Before any of that, Aristidis..." The black-haired girl begins while drawing attention on her, appearing rather conflicted about something. "About that massacre you told us not to long ago. Did you... Really have to kill all those people, dear? Couldn't you resolve this war without any bloodshed?"
The pitch-black Storyteller gets up and turns toward her with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, I did explain once why in such situations I will choose mostly violence, didn't I?"
"Actually, no, you did not." The pink-haired girl tells him while folding her arms.
He gets confused for a moment there, before he puts a hand on his chin as he gives it a bit more thought, and realizes his mistake. "Oh right, I was interrupted at that time as I was doing so. Well, my ladies, the reason-"
~A Quick Explanation Later~
After receiving the said explanation, the girls appear surprised with whatever it is that the viewers are not allowed to understand yet.
"Wait, are serious?" Louise asks him, unsure if he truly meant that.
"I am not joking, that is indeed the reason." Aristidis simply answers, showing that to be indeed the case, before folding his arms. "Considering what I am about, that choice of mine is rather logical to think of it otherwise."
"Now..." He then trails off as he looks away and upward to the side, his expression mildly, yet sinisterly gleeful while doing so. "We see if my enemies, and possible future enemies, will realize it before they make another silly mistake like the ones already committed."
As everyone stays as they are for a moment, suddenly the door slams open, startling even Aristidis who stumbles where he is, revealing Louise's blonde sister Eleonore, being the one to open it like that, and the pink-haired one behind her that is Cattleya.
And the former appears rather serious about. "Smallish Louise, enough with this! I understand your pain, but you can't stay here crying forever-"
She stops herself upon noticing the Storyteller, and she along with Cattleya cannot believe in their eyes.
While the latter clasps her own hands together as she is slowly overtaken by happiness, Eleonore in her shock is trying to make sense of the situation. "B-But we've heard... I-I mean everyone was..."
The mouthless Storyteller utters a small chuckle somewhat amused with her reaction to the fact he is alive and well, before beginning to untie his luxurious cape for the maid Cinderella to take from his hands. "I will explain the story of what happened a second time for you. Till then, sit with us as I choose the today's TV program."
After that, the scene moves to show the outside of the room as the door is closed behind them, and begins zooming out of the academy itself, and soon turning to show the clear blue sky above.
The sky then darkens, indicating the pass if the appropriate hours to reach the point of the day turning to night, with the scene moving again to show this time zooming in to the royal palace of Gallia.
Once inside, it shows King Joseph close to a window inside the room where he holds his personal strategic table, looking outside as he waits patiently there.
As he does so, the door to the room opens, and through the entrance comes the pale beauty with the pale skin Sheffield, who proceeds to bend the knee behind of her master.
"Master Joseph." She starts, while apparent by her uneasy expression that the mission she was given did not go as well as she would want.
The Gallian King stays as he is. "Report."
Sheffield finds her composure, and begins recalling the mission. "I was keeping a careful eye from a safe distance at the group I enlisted once more with stealing the Ring Of Andvari from the Lagdorian Lake. But once most of them set their foot on the lake's water..."
A flashback shows as most of the said group, who number to six men, is almost instantly attacked by multiple black/gray sharks, with each having six bright-red eyes, and two horn-like fins on their heads. [The sharks straight out of the hell's Wrath Ring of Helluva Boss]
The five of the six are turned into a quick snack by the sharks, and as the panicked man that was closer to the edge is able to make it out safely as his associates were being devourer, one of the sharks jumps out of the water with a strong leap, lands at the ground where the said man was running toward to, who stops and looks shocked at the creature, before it slams him with its tail back into the water, with it hopping with ease back in as well, with every single one tearing the last man apart, as the pale woman was watching at the whole thing with unexpected shock.
The flashback ends as the scene cuts back to Sheffield. "They were torn to shreds inside the water by ferocious, fish-like creatures. One of them even jumped out of the water to strike the remaining one inside again, to finish him off like the rest. Such creatures were not present the last time we went, and definitely do not look like something that would normally live in a lake."
Joseph smiles, for he understands what that means.
"And so, in the end he lives indeed." He understands, and then turns to look at Sheffield while signing her with a finger to stand up, which she does. "We may not be allowed possession of the ring anymore, but that will not stop my future plans."
The pale woman smiles while blushing softly, impressed by him. "As expected of Master Joseph."
The Gallian King's sight shifts to the table next to her, specifically at a small figurine that appears like an exceptional representation of the Storyteller.
Once more, he smiles boldly upon thinking of his next move. "Sheffield, be prepared. You are to meet with the Storyteller at the first chance you get during the next day."
{To Be Continued}
[Note: If you see slight errors in the writing, trust me when I say it is for the most part not me doing the mistake. For work reason, my only access is the Fanfiction provided in my phone, and it apparently is very bad at putting things as needed after saving. Hopefully they will fix it SOMEDAY! As always please inform me if you notice such mistakes, so I can try and fix them. Thanks and hope to enjoy the one that comes next]