A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 14: Do You Want to Play Goddess?
Day 10:
One thing that I would say about our expedition leader, Theo Rakheshir, was that the man didn't waste time. The moment that the sun had risen in the early morning, he had everyone awakened and already packing to move into the forest.
Unfortunately for me, that meant that I only had a few hours' sleep since, after my discussion with Momonga, I had to [Message] my copy and both learn of any events that had transpired since I had been gone and prepare a moment to switch places so that the expedition didn't learn of my nightly excursion. After all of that, I then had to prepare an illusion on my tent so that I could sleep without worrying about anyone discovering my true form.
To say that I had a long night was an understatement. At the very least, I had gained a lot from meeting Momonga, so the tradeoff of a full night's sleep was certainly worth the reward. I now knew that the entire guild of Ainz Ooal Gown had followed Momonga, a Player from my world, into this new world. That meant that I was no longer alone in this land…
Unfortunately, that meant I was no longer alone. With everything I knew about the guild, from its strength, the vast wealth it held, and how its members role-played as the evil villains of a fantasy setting… Fuck, this was worrying.
Momonga didn't seem like a bad person, just a guy trying to make the best of an impossible situation. And while that seemed nice and all, Momonga was too afraid to do anything that would go against what his NPCs thought their dark ruler should be. Worse still is that he's the one person that can keep them in check.
I really hope the guy took to heart what I recommended he should do, because I really didn't want him or his guild as enemies right now. Regardless, that will have to be a problem for another day, right now I needed to focus on this mission, and by the numerous gods here, I was terrified.
My copy had told me how she had taken care of any possible issues that might arise from arriving at the stone tree I had created next to the Green Claw tribe. What didn't alleviate any of my worries was that my copy hadn't told me how she had taken care of it, just that it would be a surprise which could mean any number of things. None of which meant anything good for me.
Currently, my traveling party was deep into the woods. Our group was organized around the protection of the mages, so Ander and Cassius were placed on the left and right side of the group of mages. Andra was set in the rear guard while the resident shy ranger, Loa, trailed behind to deal with anyone tailing us. Carnan took point with our guide, Mercia, in the front of the group.
As for me, due to the typical reasoning that mages were weak if caught in a melee fight, they had me remain in the center as both a preventative measure against me being taken off-guard as well as so I could react in equal measure to any section of our formation being attacked with either combat or buffing spells.
I personally found it rather funny that they assumed that I'd need protection when I could very easily protect myself from physical attacks if needed. I didn't inform them of this fact since it was best to keep such information to myself.
This formation, while a tactically good idea, wasn't exactly necessary since, with my sense of smell, I knew that there weren't any monsters within a 700-meter radius of us. Actually, what I did smell in a large amount around us was foxes. I found that to be quite odd.
"Since you are new to these lands, Kashia, I'd assume that you don't know much about the Great Forest of Tob?" Theo asked while walking next to me. Actually, during this entire trek through the forest, the man had been constantly maneuvering to end up next to me. From there, he had been quite talkative on multiple subjects pertaining to the Re-Estize Kingdom and its study into magic. While some of the topics Theo brought up were things that fI already knew, other topics were quite illuminating.
For instance, the mages of the Baharuth Empire and the Magician's Guild of the Re-Estize were locked into a kind of magical cold war with one another. While the Magician's Guild might be behind in terms of magical study and power, they compensated for this weakness by sending spies to steal magical secrets and items from the Baharuth. In return, the Baharuth would respond in kind with their own spies. From there, it became an ever-escalating war of espionage as either side would then start mixing in false information to hinder the other side.
When I asked Theo as to why he was telling me this when I could possibly be a spy, his response was reasonable, "You'd make for a terrible spy. Your appearance stands out too much and the Baharuth would never send such a powerful mage to be potentially captured by us."
It gave me quite the laugh, I will admit. And yet, I now had a bit more of the picture on this conflict between nations. In my opinion, the only reasonable explanation that the Baharuth hadn't conquered the Re-Estize with their glaringly obvious advantage in magic is due to the Baharuth seeing a grinding campaign on their enemies as more beneficial/economical than just sending a wave of mages. And in a way, it was.
They clearly have more than enough numbers to spare by the rate that they keep sending waves of their own soldiers during the yearly battles. It was very likely that they were trying to wear out the Re-Estize's armies before launching a full-scale invasion. This was in addition to any nobles that might be bribed to change sides.
Anyway, I should end my train of thought and focus back on Theo's question. "Not as much as I'd like to know."
"Then to give you some knowledge on this place, it's one of the few sections of the Re-Estize Kingdom that has never been conquered and has been barely surveyed. What is known is that three great beings rule sections of the forest. Little is known about them, but what has been discovered is that at least one of these beings is known to be reasonable and allow travelers to pass through its territory if giving offerings in exchange." Theo explained.
"So these beings have some intelligence?" I asked while acting surprised, like I didn't already know about this.
"Indeed. While the Magician's Guild hasn't been able to investigate the Great Forest as much as we like, this is due to it being hard to justify the expense of sending expedition groups into a deadly territory that doesn't display any signs of obvious magical energy."
"And that's what leads to our expedition right now to reach the great lake." I remarked.
"That's right." Theo said with an excited glimmer in his eyes, "Now, we have a justification to travel here and discover what great magic could have possibly conjured such a massive structure. And with it, a possible way to end our ongoing war with the Baharuth."
I couldn't help but be surprised that Theo's goal was a lot more, well, I guess you could call it altruistic.
"Here I thought that this was going to be more about gaining power than saving lives." Theo looked at me with a smirk in response.
"While attaining magical power is a side objective, the Magician's Guild was founded to protect this kingdom." Theo stated before continuing, "Now, as I was mentioning earlier about the rulers of this for-" Theo was quickly cut off as up ahead, our guide Mercia, called out from up ahead.
"Be on guard! Something is surrounding us!" She shouted as the foliage around us started rustling while the sound of padding paws echoed in my ears. Additionally, the fox scent from earlier had grown which made me quite suspicious.
I could hear the blades of Ander, Andra, and Cassius being drawn while Loa nocked an arrow onto her bow and slightly drew the string of it back. Carnan took a combat stance next to Mercia while all the mages around me readied their staves in preparation for what was coming.
Unlike the rest of the group, I maintained a fairly relaxed appearance while preparing the spell [Magic Missile] in case my suspicions were proven wrong. The growing scent of adrenaline and fear wafted off my party in waves as the rustling reached a fevered pitch until, all at once, it stopped and left us in an unusual silence.
Then, in front of Carnan and Mercia, a silver fox with two tails trotted out from between the trees. The moment the fox revealed itself, Loa fired off an arrow at the fox that was about to hit it until, at the last moment, one of its tails snaked out and caught the arrow just an inch from its eye.
I heard a few gasps of surprise from my party at seeing such an unnatural display of reflexes from what was, by all appearances, a slightly odd-looking animal.
"I would assume that, within your cultures, it is considered offensive to attack a messenger?" The fox asked with an oddly deep voice for a creature of his size. That caused everyone to become stock still as the fox cocked his head in curiosity while his silver eyes took a moment to study each person here. It was when his eyes met mine that they took on a more excitable emotion before shifting back to being unreadable.
Then, he spoke once more, "Now, if you would be so kind to not attack me, I'd like to give you all my message." When no one made a single move to stop him, he gave a fanged grin, "Good. Greetings to the travelers of the forest. My name is Ken, Grand Attendant of the Fox Princess, Daughter of the Goddess Inari."
Fuck fuck fuck… I took a glance over to Theo to see that he was still trying to process everything that had just been said. I could only hope that the guy would consider the idea that the name I told him about my mother was just coincidentally the same as what Ken just announced.
Gods dammit, am I going to have to do damage control if it comes down to it? While I liked giving hints every once in a while, this would both ruin the game I've been playing and force me to reshuffle all of my plans.
"My Lady is aware of why you are here, and bids you an invitation to the structure that you have been traveling to, the Tree of the Gods, where she currently resides so that she may converse with you. Will the one that speaks for you give me an answer?" Ken asked as he sat on his haunches and waited.
I, along with most of the party, looked over to see Theo appearing to go over his options before he finally answered, "We accept the invitation to meet with your Fox Princess."
"Excellent!" Ken said before getting up onto all fours, "Then I, and my compatriots, shall escort you the rest of the way. Follow me." As if to give credence to Ken's words, over a dozen foxes with multiple tails, up to the amount of three, revealed themselves from the forest and prowled around our group before disappearing once more between the trees.
From there, we began following Ken. "Master, are you certain that we should be doing this? We have no reason to trust this creature, especially since its claiming to be working with a deity." One of the mages whispered to Theo.
"While your concerns are noted, this creature, and more importantly, its master, seem to know more about why that giant structure exists than we do. Additionally, I'd rather we not have to fight an unknown number of creatures since I have a feeling that the invitation was more of an order than a request." Theo answered to the mage, which the rest of the mages also heard and understood.
As the mages continued to whisper amongst themselves, I saw Cassius approach me while continuing to keep a watchful eye on the surrounding forest. "Do you happen to know any spells that can affect a large number of creatures all at once?" He asked quietly.
"A few. Why do you ask?" I responded while playing along with the idea of being worried about the situation. Aside from the astronomical fuck-up that Ken made which could blow my cover, I found this entire situation quite amusing.
"I want to prepare for us to fight our way out. While most of us close combat fighters here can probably handle a few opponents normally, when that fox caught Loa's arrow, it threw that idea to the wayside. I have no idea what these creatures are but if the rest of these creatures show the same reaction speed as that first one, then we're in trouble. In my experience, it's harder to block a spell than it is to block a sword." Cassius answered.
"Aside from one of my area-of-effect spells, have you created any other steps to this plan of 'fighting our way out'? I'm quite certain that most of us adventurers that were hired don't have experience working with one another which would hinder any improvised assaults." I asked. It was after this question that Cassius seemed to suddenly lose all form emotion and luster. In a way, it seemed like his eyes were almost dead.
"While unwanted, during an improvised assault, we can afford to leave behind a few mages and adventurers to keep the attention of these creatures. The only person of any importance that we need to protect is Guildmaster Theo. The rest are more than likely to slow us down." Cassius answered without a hint of remorse. Any opinion I may have had for the man immediately went out the window when he said this.
"And why tell me any of this plan?" I said while keeping my voice as level as possible.
"You're strong, otherwise you wouldn't have already received a promotion or have been personally requested for this mission. Additionally, you are new to the guild and this country. Unlike the others, you haven't made attachments to anyone here that could get in the way of making hard decisions. Trust me when I say that it is a better idea to just let some people go so that the rest can survive."
"I'll think about it, Cassius." I answered which made him nod in response before he picked up his pace and moved towards Carnan and Mercia. I couldn't help but mull over what this all meant about my coworker. Obviously, the guy misread me since there wasn't any chance that I'd be ditching all these people, even if I wasn't already aware of what we were dealing with.
Clearly, Cassius has abandoned clients and coworkers before to save his own ass. It also meant that I couldn't trust that he wouldn't fuck us over when we'd least expect it. Now, I couldn't help but wonder how many times he's done this before? Food for thought, though I may end up letting it slip to Ainzach that one of the guildmembers is a treacherous little weasel.
Taking a glance at the trees next to me, I spotted one of our vulpine escorts who quickly met my gaze and gave a little wag of their tails. I winked back in reply which made the small black fox trot with a bit more pep in their step before they vanished back into the trees. Then, I refocused my attention back on the path ahead.
Now, I had to figure out what the hell my copy was planning with this. Obviously, I did need some cover story for the stone tree I had made, along with handling the Green Claw tribe. Unfortunately, since she was a less inhibited version of myself, I could easily guess that whatever she did was flashy.
I just hope that it wasn't too over the top…
[A Few Hours Later]
You've got to be fucking kidding me…
I don't know what I should've been expecting, but this wasn't it. Our trek through the forest had been uneventful and refreshingly boring. The only thing of note that happened was Cassius discussing his secret plan in whispers with the other adventurers while leaving out the sacrificial lamb portion of it.
No, my problem stemmed from when we arrived to the edge of the lake where we were all greeted to a large stoney gateway that was heavily decorated in fox-like iconography. It stood before a new bridge that I hadn't made last time I was here, but connected into the old bridge that led to the giant stone tree.
Both bridges were now decorated like the gate, except now there were large stone braziers spread on both sides of the bridges that contained unearthly blue flames of [Foxfire] to give the area an even more supernatural appearance than it already had.
Finally, this led to the main attraction that would've made me smack my palm to my face. There was a giant goddamn palace at the foot of the tree that looked like a European and Japanese castle has a bastard baby with one another.
The thing was large fortress that looked like it was made of gold, with multiple spires, large statues of foxes with nine tails that were visible from across the lake, and roofing of what looked like layered tiles of crimson clay, though I'd bet it was some other substance that I couldn't name.
Why did my copy have to go stupid ridiculous? I mean, the tree that I made with my own actions was one thing, namely, to impress the Green Claw tribe and gain their cooperation. Did I think it would lead to the local Magician's Guild branch finding out and investigating? Definitely not, which is my fault for not thinking ahead.
But this?
There's just no way to spin this off as some random act of God when said God decided to make a golden palace in the middle of it.
"By the gods." I heard Mercia mutter. She wasn't the only person to use that phrase or something similar upon seeing all the structures before us.
"Something like this is just impossible to create with just mortal hands. Even with mages aiding in construction, this would take years to make the gate and bridges. That isn't even taking into account the palace at the end of it." Theo remarked in awe as he moved towards the pillar of the gate entrance and laid his hand upon the surface of it.
"Perfectly smooth. As if it wasn't even carved." He muttered as a wild look filled his eyes. He turned back to his subordinates and shouted, "Come! Look at this. I've never seen crafting by hand or magic that was so perfect."
This seemed to remove whatever hesitation that was keeping the rest of the mages in our group back. They quickly joined Theo in studying and theorizing about the magical techniques used to even create just a single pillar of the gate.
At least the magic nerds were having fun with this. All I could do was look upon the bridge beyond the gate to see the huge number of foxes spaced out evenly on either side of the bridge as our extravagant welcome mat.
My copy had obviously gotten busy last night with the [Kitsune Servants] spell while also proving that there isn't a time limit to them. Additionally, from the fact that there was a mixture of 3 to 4 tails on the foxes that I could see, it theoretically meant that my copy decided to shit out an army between levels 30-40 in a world where being in the 20's was considered strong.
Did-Did I just become a national superpower overnight?
I was taken out of my thoughts while the nerds were taken out of their discussion when Ken spoke once again. "While my Lady would no doubt be pleased at your interest in the craftsmanship of her works, it would be best to not keep her waiting."
Theo almost looked like a child who just had their new toy taken away, at least until he steeled his expression and nodded. "Of course. Please, lead the way."
At the same time that Theo agreed, and both he and the mages that accompanied him began stepping through the gateway, Cassius approached me.
"Kashia, this is looking more like a trap with each second. I count between 40 or 50 of those foxes on that bridge alone that I can even see. If we go into that palace that they are clearly leading us to, I doubt we'll ever leave." Cassius whispered to me.
"Relax. We'll make it out alive." I answered the little coward. At the very least, Loa, the supposedly cowardly ranger of our group, has a reason to avoid fights. She is trained for long-range hit-and-run tactics. Obviously, she wouldn't fight with bravery or honor since she'd get her ass kicked.
She has an excuse. Cassius was a man built and trained for close-range fighting, always goes for the easiest jobs with the highest pay, and has admitted to ditching coworkers and clients to save his own ass. What's his excuse?
"You better be right about this one, Blanc." He answered while letting his hand fall away from the hilt of his sword.
The guy was planning something. I couldn't tell what, but I'd need to keep my eyes open just in case.
With that issue dealt with, the rest of us adventurers followed after the inquisitive mages, which allowed me to overhear a conversation between Theo who was probing Ken with questions.
"The fire inside of these braziers has definitely been conjured with magic, but it's a flame spell that I've never seen before. Would you be willing to enlighten me?" Theo asked with great interest. The mages following closely behind were completely silent in rapt attention during this exchange.
"The spell is called [Foxfire]. It is an innate spell known to us kitsune. It produces an unquenchable flame that remains lit longer the stronger the kitsune that casts it is." Ken answered with ease.
"Is it possible for one to learn such a spell?"
"Certainly, Guildmaster Rakheshir. There are those worthy few who have been granted the knowledge in the past, but that is always with permission from either Lady Inari or her daughters. I hope that answers your question." Ken ended with what I felt was a diplomatic way of saying 'fuck off'. "Is there anything else you wish to ask?"
"In fact, there is. From what I can see here, no mere spell from any tier under the 6th could possibly create such architecture. At what tier can your mistress possibly cast?" Theo asked with an almost maniacal fervor.
"The Princess can cast Super-Tier spells. It's what she used to create the structures you see before you." Ken stated.
"S-Super-Tier?"
Ken gave Theo a curious glance before responding, "The ultimate spells beyond the 10th Tier. While doubtful that you could cast them, I was under the belief that, as mages who have devoted themselves to the study of magic, you would know what they are."
"But this proves that there are tiers above the fabled 8th Tier. Three entire Tiers that go beyond the stories of myths and legends that have been spoken of for centuries! A kingdom that could cast such a spell could create an empire the likes of which this world has never seen." Theo said with a frenzy.
"Sir Ken," One of the mages following Theo spoke up, "if y-your Lady has such p-power, why hasn't she tried to conquer not just the Re-Estize, but any kingdom nearby?"
Great, now someone was bringing world domination to the table. Running an entire settlement of mixed-race inhabitants was already enough work which I was trying to figure out. Running an entire nation, or worse, multiple nations, would be a bureaucratic nightmare.
"I cannot speak for what my Lady may choose to do in the future. What I know for now is that it is not in my Lady's nature to conquer without reason. Anything else I could say would only be rumor or worse, slander, to her name."
That seemed to answer the mage's question, that or he was just too fearful to ask anything else. Yet, while the mages who followed Theo seemed quite cowed, said guildmaster slowly gained a disturbingly creepy grin.
"Aside from [Foxfire], which your Lady likely wouldn't just teach to anyone, is there any spell that she would be willing to give us knowledge about?"
"It would be dishonorable of me to make promises in the place of my Lady. You will have to bring your request to her if you wish to see it answered."
"I see." Theo said with acceptance, even if his expression said otherwise. "On a different subject, you mentioned how your Fox Princess is the daughter of a goddess, Inari. Who is this deity since I've never heard of them before?"
Haha, oh fuck. Ken, do not screw me over on this one because Theo is definitely someone who pays attention!
"Lady Inari is the goddess of a land beyond the realm of mortals. Due to her kind, yet playful nature, she would visit the mortal realms to bestow her blessings and give aid when needed. Due to four of her domains consisting of industry, agriculture, fertility, and prosperity, Lady Inari is quite invested in seeing mortals thrive."
"Interesting. I've also noticed that, aside from all of you foxes with multiple tails, there is also a great amount of iconography and statues of foxes. Is there any reason for it?"
"Two of Lady Inari's domains are foxes and magic. We kitsune, the foxes with multiple tails as you put it, were created by Lady Inari as her emissaries and assistants to the mortals by blessing the most devoted foxes with great magic. From there, my race has grown ever since." Ken said with a bit of pride in his tone.
Huh, guess that helps explain a bit of the kitsune backstory from YGGDRASIL which wasn't exactly elaborated on, or well, would it actually be this New World's backstory considering that it seems the actual gods were involved in this realm instead of back in the game? Metaphysics were just headache inducing.
"So, do you think that this princess is going to be a fox like the rest of these critters?" I heard Andra whisper to her brother.
"Nah, I think she'll be huge fox, like 10 feet tall. Possibly have giant teeth and claws. Maybe even have a taste for human flesh." Ander replied back which cause both adventurers to snicker.
Aren't those two just a pair of jokesters? I don't have the slightest taste for human flesh. The fox form though, not entirely inaccurate…
"Didn't that one fox up ahead say that her mom rules over foxes? Does that mean that her mom took a tumble with an animal and popped her out after 9 months?"
I had to cull the instinctual urge to smack the pair upside their heads with my hidden tails. That didn't, however, stop my right eye from twitching in a mix of awe and horror at the brass pair these two had in joking like this. My hearing is very good, and looking around at the kitsune near us, their twitching and bristled fur told me that they heard it as well.
Slowing my pace down so that I could walk beside the twins, I heard Ander then add, "Bet that everyone could hear that princess being conceived with the noises that foxes normally make."
"Well, since they said the goddess was also involved with fertility, you think she pumped this princess out in a litter?" Both idiots then burst out laughing by the time I was next to them.
"What's causing you two to laugh so much?" I asked as innocently as possible. Andra looked at me with a grin on her face before putting her arm over my shoulders.
"My brother and I were just making a bit of small-talk about this Fox Princess." Andra answered.
"Oh, what about? It's gotta be pretty good to make you laugh when everyone else here is so serious. It's like a funeral or something with the people around here."
Andra seemed to roll her eyes around in thought before looking at me and leaning in to whisper in my ear, "You think that this goddess had to take it doggy-style to make the princess?" I started laughing, both as an act to Andra's joke, and at how suicidal these two were right now.
Looking around, the kitsune near us all had their hackles beginning to rise up and a few that had been spread out evenly to escort the group were all slowly beginning to converge towards us.
"That's a pretty good joke, Andra. It reminds me of a joke that I know." I said with a big grin.
"Do tell, Kashia." Andra and Ander grinned in return.
"There once were some adventurers that made too much noise, not expecting the monster they were hunting actually had great hearing. So, when they were least expecting it, the monster found and ate the pair. Funny joke, huh?"
Ander and Andra looked at each other in confusion before looking back at me. "That wasn't much of a joke. Where was the-" Andra trailed off when I make a quick glance to the multiple angry kitsune near us and both her and Ander's eyes finally followed mine.
Soon enough, their eyes widened in horror at all the glares directed towards them before they looked back to me. "Now, there's a punchline for you two!" I then patted Andra on the back before ducking out from her arm on my shoulders. "I wish the pair of you good luck." I said while picking up my pace to leave the pair behind. I really did mean what I said for a reason.
Considering that they just insulted me to my face, even if unknowingly, along with insulting my mother, Inari, then the pair would likely be experiencing a lot of bad luck in the coming days. Kitsune are tricksters, and when you manage to insult their goddess, be prepared for some shit to come your way.
I did have to wonder if they would just deal with random mishaps throughout their stay here or would something more… fitting occur?
"Kashia, while I understand you warning those two, did you really have to do it that way? There are more diplomatic approaches to situations like these, especially since we need to appear united." Carnan spoke up next to me. My nose couldn't help but slightly scrunch up at the strong alcohol wafting off his breath.
"There is a time and place to make jokes. This is not one of them, especially when those jokes are insulting beings of unknown strength that are being diplomatic with us." I did leave out the part where they were directly insulting me. Carnan took a swig from his gourd before corking it and sighing.
"I understand your reasoning. I just wanted you to be aware is all." He then glanced back to the nervous pair of twins and made a slight smirk, "Besides, I was about to head over to them to give a warning that you did. You seem to have good hearing if you could pick up what they were whispering."
"You as well. Did you need to train for it or is it just natural?" I asked with curiosity. It would certainly make sense if a profession where one trains their mind and body to its peak would give some unique benefits.
He gave his hand a bit of a waver in response. "While the wood of the temple was already strong, reinforcing it with iron added to its stability." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at this monk already fitting the stereotype of quoting random proverbs.
"Got any more of those proverbs hidden away in your head?" I asked with amusement.
"As a squirrel hides in the tops of trees, so too, does knowledge within one's mind." He answered in a very roundabout way of saying yes. It took me a quick moment to think of a proverb in response.
"Answer simple, but question very hard." I said in response. This made Carnan grin with an eyebrow raised in challenge. Luckily, I could still remember a guy I teamed up with once in YGGDRASIL who went all-in on the roleplay as a monk. It was actually quite impressive how he seemed to have some random proverb for every response. I could only guess that he memorized them all to do the bit.
"The highest vantage point takes the longest to reach."
"If you seek nothing, then you will surely find it." I answered in response.
"Yet the journey can give more wisdom than the ending."
"A long journey can be like a big house, and a big house can be like a man married to a fat woman: hard to get around." That was when both of us burst out laughing.
"I concede this round to you, since I don't have any proverbs at the moment which can overcome something as unique as that." Carnan stated after he managed to catch his breath.
"Do all monks just learn proverbs to get away with saying the most ridiculous things?"
"Isn't that the beauty of it, Kashia? There are certainly some proverbs that are useful for a situation at hand. And then, there are the proverbs that allow me escape unwanted conversations because the one I speak to is too confused. That, or I just use them to mess with people." Taking another swig from his gourd, he continued, "An added bonus, they can keep one's mind sharp if made up on the spot while also appearing to sound like wisdom."
"At least you admit it. Do you monks just keep a book of proverbs to pass down to your disciples?"
"Less of a book and more of my master continually beating me in spars while drilling her proverbs into my head. 'Carnan, all the speed of wind cannot overcome the sturdy mountain'. Then she'd slam me into the ground. If there was anything of her training that stuck with me, it was her random verbal wordplay."
"Sounds like a deadly verbal debate."
He nodded in response. "It certainly was. Yet, I wouldn't trade that time I spent learning from her for all the drink in the world. Gaining strength is never easy, but my master had a great skill in teaching, even if her teachings sounded more like the rambling of a senile grandmother than the grand master of our temple." He trailed off as his eyes took on a glassy look, then with grimace, his expression changed back to his smiling appearance from before.
He took a glance over and I followed his gaze to Mercia who was waving him over. He then looked back to me. "Seems like duty calls. I hope to have another round of verbal sparring with you in the future. Hopefully, this old monk can come up with a few proverbs to fit your more…interesting nature."
"Really, you're old? You barely look like you're in your 30s." I remarked. To be completely honest, I could not figure out what race he was to confirm if he was human or not. The stench of his alcohol seemed to obscure everything. Could it be a monk trick? Or was he an elf or half-elf?
"Looks can be deceiving, Kashia." He cryptically answered before walking over to our guide. I'll figure him out one day.
It took a little bit under half an hour before we finally reached the gates of the golden palace, the doors of which had the image of a nine-tailed kitsune embossed on them. When we got close enough, the doors began swinging open by themselves as if by magic. It probably was magic, either from an enchantment on the door or telekinetic magic.
Without missing a beat, Ken walked inside and the rest of our group followed after. When we got inside, I got to see the start of the interior of this palace. What got my attention first were the massive gold support columns that were evenly spaced out. They were embossed with carvings that had a unique method of dragging one's attention to the large throne at the end of the room.
The throne was raised off the ground by 10 feet or so, with step that led up to it. Nine spikes curved out from the back of this throne that was encrusted with a multitude of jewels.
But, the main attraction of this room was the woman sitting on said throne. She wore a conical white hat that had two holes at the top so that a pair of golden furred ears could stick out comfortably. On her face was a translucent veil that, while obscuring her features, almost allowed a person to see the large smirk on her lips. Her eyes were a complete glowing gold. Behind her, nine golden tails playfully flowed around.
That was literally the most modest that my copy had went with this disguise. The rest of her outfit was a stark white, and may have been slightly similar to mine if not for the fact that her dress showed even more skin than mine, enough so to be embarrassing in public. At least she had sleeves, if one ignored the fact that they weren't attached to her outfit at all.
The only design that was completely shared were the style of boots we wore.
I could already guess that she specifically chose her outfit to fuck with me. And, glancing over to the males and some of the females of our expedition group and how they were reacting, I was going to be completely humiliated on the walk back to E-Rantel.
I was halfway tempted to just end this farce and go with a plan B of erasing everyone's minds and working from there. But I couldn't. One of the reasons was that it was against my morals to just wipe a person's mind like that. The other was that I would be admitting defeat to this little game of hers, and she knows that.
Just need to deal with this for a day or two. I hope.
Ken led us to the steps of the throne before taking a bow before my copy and turning around, "I introduce you to her Highness, the Fox Princess, daughter of her Majesty, the Goddess Inari."
"Greetings, I hope that your journey here was without issue." My copy said with an altered voice that made it sound like multiple people were speaking.
Theo was the first to break from our group and take a few steps towards the throne before bending down onto one knee. "Your escort made certain that we arrived here safely. It is an honor to meet one such as you. My name is Th-"
"Theo Rakheshir. I'm well aware of who you and the people that accompany you are. I also know of why you are here. But I would like to hear it directly from you." My copy while crossing her legs and resting her head in her hand.
"W-We came here learn of the power that created the giant stone tree that is called the Tree of Gods." Theo answered.
"Oh, come now, Theo. You're among friends here. Tell me the real reason that you came here, and not just one of your many subordinates." My copy asked playfully. Theo seemed to freeze as his gaze met the glowing gold of my copy's.
"I…I came here because I wanted to learn this magic myself. I came for the sake of knowledge. Strengthening my kingdom is a secondary outcome from gaining more knowledge about magic." Theo said with open honesty, and from the lack of reaction from most of the mages that came with the man, they either already knew this or shared the same mentality.
The one mage that had an expression of surprise was Mercia. I can't help but wonder what that woman must be thinking right now about her guildmaster. Would she try to take this knowledge to a higher authority or would she remain silent?
"Was that so hard? I appreciate when people approach me with honesty. And your reasoning is so very interesting. Most other men in your position might want wealth, power, fame, or pleasurable company. But you? You just want to know. How interesting." My copy said with a laugh.
Theo looked taken aback and worried at this response. "F-Fox Princess, I hope that what I said h-hasn't offended you."
"No, it hasn't. It's just been a while since I've encountered something so amusing." She answered, "I could perhaps give you what it is you seek. But let me ask you, what is it that you'd be willing to give me in exchange?"
Without hesitation, Theo replied, "Anything that is within my power to grant."
"Daring, aren't we? You haven't even heard my request before handing me the keys to the kingdom as it were." One of her fingers started tapping on the armrest of the throne in thought, the noise of which managed to echo throughout the room. She was definitely using an illusion spell to be more dramatic. "I don't need gold since I can make it myself. I already have great power while fame can be earned easily enough with said power. And sadly, most of you aren't the pleasurable company that I'm interested in." She said this while flicking her eyes on me, making me want to sigh in annoyance. "So, how about I answer your request with the same. Give me knowledge in exchange."
"If we were to give you knowledge that countless mages of my guild have tirelessly worked to create and collect, what spell would give us in trade? While the knowledge we have can certainly be considered the pinnacle of our research, how can it possibly compare to the divine knowledge that you might have? The trade wouldn't be balanced in your favor at all."
Theo did have a point. Considering the way that he and his mages reacted to the knowledge that spells beyond the 8th Tier existed, I'd assume that their, at best guess, 7th Tier spells would be horrifically weak in comparison to an YGGDRASIL 7th Tier spell. But, unknown to Theo and the others, I could already guess what my copy was trying to do.
She likely was trying to add to my spell list whatever simple spells that this New World had while also measuring the strength of whatever the Re-Estize could cast as stronger spells. It would also allow me to test if it was possible to naturally add a spell to my spell list if I were to learn it normally. I hope so since it would be nice to gain a few of the useful utility spells that I remember Ninya talking about.
Spells that could clean me or my clothes in an instant? Count me in on that.
"I am my mother's daughter, Theo Rakheshir. I have a vested interest in seeing the growth and prosperity of others. Granting some knowledge of the spells I know helps to facilitate this growth. Not that I expect many, if any, other mages within your kingdom to even have the ability to cast the spells I know. At best, what I hope may happen is that this knowledge I might give you would allow for your mages to gain ideas and inspiration for the creation of new spellcraft." My copy stated.
"I-I see. While I am completely willing to trade our spell knowledge with you, I would hope that it's not too much to ask if you would be willing to wait for my organization discuss this amongst ourselves. Most of our greater magical knowledge is kept locked and secured within the main guild base in the capital city, Re-Estize. In order to even take such knowledge out, it requires the authorization of two guildmasters."
"I understand. No doubt, you'd also need a good enough reason or proof to allow this knowledge to be taken out. How about I give you a rare gift, free of charge, to assist in this?" With a snap of her fingers, a glass flask appeared floating in front of her. She then uncorked it and with one of her sharp fingernails, she made a cut on her hand that began bleeding gold. I was actually thrown for a loop with that one since I didn't expect that the color of my blood would be any different from the red that I was used to. Then again, I hadn't been injured since I got to this world so I wouldn't have noticed until something like this happened.
My copy then let multiple drops of this golden blood fall into the flask before her body naturally healed the damage, then she corked the flask once more and had it float down from her throne and into Theo's shaking hands. At the same time, a kitsune appeared next to her on the throne and began licking her hand clean before disappearing.
What the hell was she trying now?
"My body and blood are infused with magic in a concentration beyond your comprehension. That flask will be all the proof you need. I hope that you don't waste my gift to you because such a thing is rarely given."
"Of course. This gift of yours will be more than enough to convince my superior of your existence and generosity. I can feel the magic coursing within this blood like one of the ancient artifacts discovered of the Eight Greed Kings." Theo answered with excitement as he gazed longingly at the flask in his hands.
Thank God that one of the rings I wore hid my magic power. I bet my cover would've been immediately blown otherwise when we shook hands. And, Eight Greed Kings? That is something to look into.
"I'm glad you like it. I believe that will be all for today, unless anyone else has any questions or requests for me?" For a few moments, no one said anything or made a move until Mercia was the one to finally break the silence.
"Why have you come here? I believe in the gods like others, but the last time that divine beings interacted with mortals was 200 years ago by the Evil Deities that spread chaos and death until the Thirteen Heroes put a stop to them. What re-" Mercia was quickly cut off by the Theo interrupting her.
"Mage Mercia, are you insane? Do you even know what you're implying right now?" Theo asked with worry as he glanced at my copy on her throne.
"She hasn't asked anything offensive; Theo. Mercia is just one of the few here that's brave enough to voice her thoughts." My copy then flicked her gaze on Mercia, causing the woman to involuntarily shiver while her heart beat like a drum loudly enough for me to hear it. "I traveled here by pure chance. Yet, even with it being pure chance for my arrival here, I've felt the urge to remain here and help those deserving of it. You may not see it, but I have been quite busy since before you arrived here."
"And what have you been doing since we came here?"
"Now that is a fun secret. Maybe I might tell you or, perhaps, I'll let you discover it on your own. Until then, I believe that this meeting is over. As a show of my hospitality, I'll allow all of you to rest here for the night before you leave tomorrow. Ken will show you all to the guestrooms." Said kitsune quickly got off his haunches and marched past us all.
Before we could get fully ready to leave, my copy had one last thing to say, "Andra and Ander," said twins froze with absolute fear as their names were called, "before you go, I will tell you that I do not have a 'taste for human flesh' as you so eloquently put it. I appreciate jokes like any other, but I will give you one warning." My copy said in a friendly tone before it turned to ice, "Mention my mother like you both did again and I will personally make sure you both have an intimate fox living experience, litter and all. Sleep well you two."
I could barely hold in my laughter at how the twins looked like they were about to shit bricks. The pair would probably think twice before making wisecracks like they did, but if they didn't, I'm certain that a kitsune or two would be happy to remind them.
It wasn't long until Ken had taken us to a wing of the palace which contained a room for each member of the expedition. It was after I was led to my room which contained a large four poster bed covered in silk sheets that I found myself flopping onto with a weary sigh. Dealing with everything today was just exhausting. I was going to need to work around interacting with the Re-Estize government in the coming future considering how closely the Magician's Guild was connected to it.
As I was about to take a moment to rest my eyes, a knocking came from my door. I had to control myself from growling in annoyance before getting back on my feet and heading to the door of my room. Taking a sniff of the air, I discovered that it was Theo who was outside of my door. Then, I finally opened it while putting on a friendly smile.
"Ah, Theo. It's a surprise to see you here. Is there anything that I can help you with?" I asked while hoping whatever it was that the guildmaster wanted would be quick.
"Yes, a few things. Would you mind if I come in?" He asked. I stepped aside and he walked past me. Closing the door behind him, I leaned against the door and watched him with curiosity. "Kashia, when we talked before, you mentioned that you are a noble that hailed from a distant land. One ruled by your mother, a powerful sorceress named Inari. I have a few suspicions but I'd like for them to be confirmed."
If I wasn't such a kind person, I would already be planning on how to kill Ken for creating this specific fucking situation. I had a whole human persona being made that was working, and then the one thing I didn't plan for ended up lighting that on fire and pouring gasoline on it. Maybe I should just keep calm and see where Theo was taking this? He might just screw up his suspicion and I could work around it.
"And what might these suspicions be?" I asked while crossing my arms.
"You are a powerful magic user that came to this country recently. Around the time that you arrived, we discover a goddess taking up residence in this same country, in a location nearby E-Rantel, the city that you came to. And then, both of you have a mother who shares the same name that is a great sorceress. There are a lot of coincidences here that are leading to one thing." Theo listed off while pacing back and forth in the room.
"And what do you think that this is leading to?"
Theo stopped pacing and looked at me in the eye. "You and the Fox Princess are sisters! From there, I can infer that you are either further down in the line of succession or, instead of being a full goddess, you are actually a demigoddess. It would explain why you are the one that has been tasked to become an adventurer while she remains here to rule and learn of what you discover!"
Fuck. He was both on the nose and so far off-base with this guess that it was actually quite astounding. At this point, this whole situation was becoming a convoluted knot that would cause me way too many headaches if I let it go on. So, the simplest solution would just be to cut the knot.
I quickly cast a [Silence] spell along with an [Anti-Information Magic Wall] on the area before taking a deep breath.
"Theo, it's a little annoying how quickly you managed to figure this out, even if half of your theory was completely wrong. It doesn't help that Ken just couldn't keep his mouth shut, but then again, that is probably on me for giving away too much when we talked earlier." I said while walking towards him until I was only a few feet away, then I let my illusion finally drop, revealing my true appearance.
Theo's eyes quickly widened on seeing this and I couldn't help but smirk. "I-I was right…" Theo muttered.
"As I said before, half right. I don't have a sister taking up residence in this country. There has only ever been one Fox Princess and that would be me. You, along with everyone else, have been interacting with a copy of myself that I made to aid in my cover." I stated while walking until I was right in front of him.
"Why even do any of this? Why pretend to be human when you could do so much more?"
I put a finger under his chin in a bit of an intimidation tactic. While I wasn't going to kill the guy, I was very much annoyed about him figuring me out. Might as well scare him a little. "Because, why not?" I said while patting him on the cheek and removing my hand. "I have a lot of reasons to keep playing as a human. One reason of which is that I enjoy the adventuring group that I'm part of. I like interacting with the cute little student of mine who I tease so much. There are a lot of reasons. Just like I have to wonder the reason as to why you decided to confront me, an unknown being with possibly godlike power, and reveal my identity? I could easily decide to deal with you in any number of ways that no one would ever find out about."
"Yet, I'm still here. Th-That means that it is either not in your nature to just get rid of me like that or you find it more amusing to keep me alive and whole." He answered with a lot of courage for a man speaking to a divine entity. I had to give him props for it at least.
"Gambling with your life like this is not something that most would do lightly. So, tell me, for what reason are you here?"
"I am a seeker of knowledge. Magic has been my whole life and I couldn't see myself doing anything else. Even though my allegiance is pledged to this kingdom, the study of magic is what I'm truly devoted to." He then went down on one knee, and I was almost worried that he was about to propose to me. "If you were to take me under your tutelage, then my life and service are yours."
Oh, I get it now. The reason he came to me was for the chance at a private audience with what he thought was my 'sister' by going through me without it being suspicious. I can only guess that this has been his whole plan from the beginning when he learned that there was a divine being that could utterly break this world's perception of magic after figuring out what he thought was our connection with one another.
On one hand, I'd have a political figure of some authority in my pocket. The only downside of this would be that I'd have another person who I'd need to keep my attention on. Weighing the options, the guy was smart enough to pick up on the clues about who I am, so he could at least pay attention and infer things easily enough. I could use that for future plans of this kingdom, especially because he might be able to get me more information on these Eight Fingers fuckers.
I had been prying information from Lubelina for the past few days about the operations of those monsters, aside from stacks of parchment I collected from her former place of business, and while that information was very enlightening, it was mostly limited to one facet of the organization. If I didn't immediately strike on all sides of their business all at once, then they'd just go underground and wait for interest on them to die down.
Theo, as someone with some political weight behind him had a good chance of fishing for information without attracting that much attention, at least if he was smart about it. That would help with building up a greater web that would allow me to find more of their people. And then, when the time was right, I'd show them a good reason for why they made the biggest mistake of their lives.
With my decision made, I finally decided to answer the little mage.
"There would be a few caveats to this, Theo Rakheshir. For one; the spells that I would teach you would go up to the 4th Tier at the highest until I feel that you've earned the right to learn higher Tiers. Secondly, none but you currently know who I am, not even my apprentice knows, and I'd like to keep it that way until I feel otherwise. Finally, while I won't ask often, if I give you a request, you will follow it. Are these terms agreeable?" I with an authoritative tone.
"Your wish is my command, Mistress." Theo answered with utter devotion. And now I just realized how sexual this guy made that sound.
Holding back from groaning at how my copy was going to relentlessly mock me for this, I decided to finally reward Theo for his vow of servitude by casting [Create Greater Item] to make a small tome that contained all the information I could recall on the first spell that came to mind, [Greater Slow]. Well, technically, it was the second spell that came to mind. The first one was [Greater Fireball], but then I realized how noticeable the spell would be if cast or practiced along with how high of a chance Theo might end up blowing himself up, losing me someone that I was investing my time into.
I held the tome out to Theo with a smile on my face. "Take this and rise. Then, you can go." Theo reverently took the offered tome and hid it in his robe before standing.
"As you wish, my Mistress." Theo answered with a bow before hurriedly leaving my room and closing my door.
With no likely interruptions to occur in the foreseeable future, I cast [Arcane Lock] on the door before I went back to the bed and collapsed upon it once again. I just needed to rest after all of this shit. If dealing with all the shenanigans of my copy, keeping my identity a secret from the others (no thanks to Ken for fucking me over), and trying to act some divine entity in front of a magic-obsessed guildmaster was difficult, then I had no idea the mental toll it must be taking on Momonga to try and maintain an evil lich persona in front of his entire guild's NPCs. The guy couldn't even get a break since he was physically incapable of sleeping.
And to add onto everything else, I am never going to get used to Theo calling me Mistress.
[E-Rantel]
Within a cave formation hidden under a crypt within the center of the cemetery of E-Rantel, a pale, almost skeletal, bald man in a red robe stood beside a stone circle which had a spell circle carved into it. Surrounding this circle were multiple pillars that lit the room with their ominous purple light from the crystals that were embedded into the top of each one.
In the man's left hand was a crooked wooden staff that a normal person might assume was just a badly carved staff. If a person was so magically inclined, they would instead see that it was a great magical focus that was worth its weight in gold. And yet, it was nothing in comparison to the dark purple orb in the man's right hand that was worth kingdoms.
Each second, the pale man continued to channel mana into the orb which was greedily accepted, the only sign of which was the constantly shifting light the softly glowed from the center of it. And with each moment more, the man knew that the orb's power would be ready to be unleashed. Yet, there was still so much mana more that was needed, enough so that it would take a few months more before it was ready.
"Soon, we will be ready to show this world the true might of death. Together, you and I." The man silently whispered to the orb. The only response the one would see normally was a reddish flickering. The man seemed to smile in delight at this, at least until he heard the tell-tale sound of stone sliding against stone as the secret passage to this lair was opened.
The man hid behind a large rock formation and waited for whatever impudent soul decided to wander into this place. It didn't take long for the sound of boots to echo throughout the cave as the person went down the steps. Just before the man readied himself to cast a death spell, a female voice echoed out.
"Khajjie, I need to talk to you, old man! Are you in here?" The annoying sing-song voice of a very familiar person made the man step out from behind the rock formation and got to see the form of a young blonde woman with a pretty face that was stretched into a cat-like grin. She wore a cloak that obscured her body except for the hint of multiple differently colored plates of metal.
"Insolent child, I told you to stop calling me that. It disrespects me along with the great name of Zurrenorn. Now tell me, why have you come here?" The man, whose true name was Khajiit, asked in annoyance.
The woman's smile seemed to grow even wider as she pulled out a delicate-looking crown made of multiple gold threads that intersected one another. At each of these intersections, multiple small jewels were woven into the thread, while at the center of this crown sat a large black jewel. Without care for how valuable this crown was, she began spinning it on her finger.
"I thought you might be interested in this." She responded.
"My God, that is one of the treasures of the Slane Theocracy!" Khajiit said in complete shock, "How did you possibly acquire it? It is supposed to be kept in possession of the Shaman Princess at all times."
"Well, I felt that the girl who was wearing it didn't really need it anymore. So, I decided to take it. She acted so funny after I removed it." The woman answered with sadistic amusement as she stopped spinning the crown on her finger.
"You realize that the Crown of Wisdom turns those who wear it into a human magic item. They lose all upper reasoning and become no better than puppets that spew out high-powered magic. Just touching it like you are could have cursed you to such a fate." Khajiit stated, incredulous at how flippant that this woman was treating such an object.
"I'm still here, so it seems like there isn't an issue."
"It's not just that, Clementine. You have also possibly dragged the attention of the Slane Theocracy upon us for an object that only 1 person in a million can use. It may as well be a piece of junk."
Clementine just bounced on her heels with barely a care before answering, "That's why I wanted to get your help with something, as a fellow member of the secret society of Zurrenorn."
"And what help might that be?"
The woman stopped bouncing on her heels and turned to look at Khajiit fully before answering, "Well, Khajiit Dale Badantel, I have heard about a boy with a talent in the city that allows him to use any magic items without issue. I was wondering if this little trinket might work on him. After all, you have been playing around with that silly little rock of yours for so long and need a lot of mana to charge it up."
"I don't go by Dale any longer, Clementine." Khajiit said in annoyance before thinking on the woman's plan, "Still, your idea does have merit. But I doubt that you need my help with kidnapping one boy. What is it that you really want?"
"To see your little plan create as much chaos as possible. You said that you were trying to create a city of the dead from what I've heard." Clementine answered with a giggle.
"And you would use that chaos to cover your tracks from the Black Scripture that the Slane Theocracy would be sending after you."
"Oh, you know me so well!" The woman said while twirling in delight. "Now, what do you say?"
With an ominous smile, Khajiit answered, "That sounds like a wonderful trade."