A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 53: Incompetence Rises to the Top
[Ainz Ooal Gown]
Day 46:
Looking at the vial containing a golden, glowing liquid, I found it slightly odd to know that this substance was actually created from Kashia's blood. More than that, it had the ability to enhance the mana and spells of those who consumed it. And this was technically created from a diluted source of her blood.
"From what my spies have reported, creating more of the substance to investigate and test with is extremely easy. That elixir of Kashia's blood can be replicated by mixing it with a source of mana-infused water, creating more of itself without losing any of its potency." Demiurge explained, further interesting me. And from that interest, I found myself questioning why Kashia's blood was like this?
Playing YGGDRASIL long enough, I've become knowledgeable about multiple aspects of the game, such as the races and their backstories. Yet, none of them had any type of lore about purely magical blood like this. It gave me pause to wonder, with how the races from the game translated here, if Kashia had a racial class that gave her magical blood like this. It would certainly explain her absolutely absurd levels of mana she had throughout the fight against Shalltear.
"Demiurge, what tests did you have in mind for this substance?" I questioned, looking up from the vial to the arch-devil.
"One of the major tests I wished to perform, Lord Ainz, is to see the exact limits of what this elixir will change mana-infused liquids. We still have a few of the human prisoners that haven't been spoiled, alongside our converted humans. I wished infuse mana into their blood and see if the elixir might change it. Depending upon our findings, we may have a new method to create or enhance the soldiers of Nazarick."
I held my chin in thought at the proposal. Those criminals were going to be used or die regardless, so I didn't see much issue with using them as test subjects. "I see. Did you have any other tests in mind?"
Demiurge seemed to smile at the question, "There were some thoughts on how the highly magical properties of this elixir might interact when mixed with potions. Those were just a few of my ideas, my Lord."
"An intriguing proposition, Demiurge. Go ahead and perform your tests, but inform me of each test before you perform them and report on the results afterwards." I commanded, earning a bow from my NPC.
"As you command, my Lord. I'll begin with testing the limits of what liquids the elixir will change." With this, Demiurge departed from my throne, leaving me to mull over my thoughts.
Even with all the developments that Nazarick has been making, I had made no headway with the most important one. Albedo was still missing.
None of the scouts have been able to find her, some have even been destroyed by the monsters that inhabited that place. What I found most unfortunate is that, though the resources lost were easily replaceable, the frustration, despair, and sense of failure burned in my mind. Even numbed as my emotions were, it was like a fly continually buzzing in my ear that I couldn't swat away.
Day and night, it prodded at my mind, but there was nothing I could do except impatiently wait for news. Not even Nazarick's ongoing victories with the rebellion of the Wyvern Rider Tribes has been enough to stifle these thoughts.
Even if I were to find Albedo, what then? Would I punish her, question her, embrace her like a wayward child that finally came home?
This made me wish that things could become simple again. But I'm a realist, and I know that things have gone beyond the point of no return. Already, I know that we will need to prepare for dealing with Kashia in the future.
For Demiurge, Kashia was enraged and promised to kill him if she ever saw him. I can deal with that by keeping him far away from her. But with Albedo? She touched a girl that Kashia adopted as a daughter.
With how emotional Kashia is, once she learns that Albedo has been freed, she will stop at nothing to either put Albedo back into the Un-Realm or kill her permanently through one method or another. I can't allow that.
Demiurge has already asked about capturing one of the kitsune that Kashia has summoned for interrogation as part of these preparations. I've held off from doing so, but I fear that I will eventually say yes to it.
[Unknown]
Day 47:
Entering the front gates of E-Rantel was a relief in my mind. It had felt like a lifetime of travel after Father sent me on an important task for the family. One that required my method of travel to mostly be kept secret. After all, why else send me from the estate with only a simple pack and letter of recommendation from Father?
Obviously, this needed to be mostly unknown, for this was possibly even a test of my worth that would make me heir instead of either of my older brothers. Since Father hadn't even gone to those two first, it meant that he felt that I was the only one who might be able to aid our family so.
I only wish that this secret assignment hadn't required Father to not give me horse, carriage, or even a simple servant for traveling to my destination. All I received was a simple purse of gold to aid me.
Unfortunately, I needed to utilize it all in E-Pespel for the noble accommodations, food, and drink that I had in the city. It was there that I helped to build incredible connections with other nobles within the city. Through my inspiring persuasive skills, I convinced all of how great an advantage working with the house of Montserrat would be.
They were so moved by what I said, that all of them left the establishment we had been staying, almost immediately after our talks, to begin working on agreements with Father. I've no doubt that Father will be beyond impressed at how much I've helped our family, and I hadn't even gotten to E-Rantel yet!
Sadly, after this, I found my lacking funds to be of great hinderance. I attempted to contact the nobles that I had forged alliances with, yet when I arrived to their estates to collect aid, I had been turned away. It appears that my silver tongue had been a double-edged sword as none of the nobles were at home when I visited.
Their servants had told me exactly that, likely already off to visit Father. And, in their haste, none had remembered to tell their servants of the ties that our houses had established. They will likely send me letters of apology upon returning home for their forgetfulness.
Yet, this still didn't solve my monetary issues at hand, and I was forced to traverse on foot to E-Rantel. The journey was difficult, but I was able to bear through them, even if the nights were quite cold as I lacked a fire or blanket to keep me warm.
This had led to my silk vestments getting quite filthy. I'd have to throw them out and have them replaced when I arrived at E-Rantel.
Despite all these hardships, I was amazed to find that even Princess Renner was involved in this mission of mine. She had sent an entire wagon for me to travel the rest of the way into the city. It even contained a feast for me that, while appreciated, was more than I could ever eat myself. Though, I did take time to indulge before then.
As I was generous noble, I'd let the peasants have the rest of this excessive feast.
I think that Princess Renner might even have feelings for me. Why else would she give so much to me? She is probably waiting for a letter from me to reciprocate these feelings. Oh, I can already see now that this must be a test to see if I'm worthy enough to take her Highness' hand in marriage, and after that, the throne as well.
My only complaint about Princess Renner's token of affection was the driver of this wagon. He seemed quite surly, likely because he was jealous of the attention that Princess Renner was showering upon me. But as a peasant, he should know that his status would prevent such a union from ever happening.
Also, I believe that he has some odd disease as the pupils in his eyes seemed to keep changing from circular to slitted. At least, they did whenever he spoke to me.
I think that his name was Shy-Row or something similar. An odd peasant name, to be certain.
But our relationship with one another was coming to a close as Shy-Row drove the wagon through the city gate, and a bit down the street. "I was kind enough to help you get into the city. You can find your way from here." Shy-Row stated.
Yes, it would be best to hide my newfound affiliation to Princess Renner since this was supposed to be a secret mission. "Then, I guess I'll have to thank her Highness on sending this wagon and food for me. When you have a chance, go share the food with the peasants as a sign of my generosity, Shy-Row."
I think the man also has some secondary condition with his eyes as the bottom eyelids started twitching. I got off the wagon and began walking away, "It-It's Shirou, you dumb F-" I didn't get to hear the rest of Shy-Row's words as a crowd began gathering around him and the wagon.
I'll definitely have to put in a complaint about Shy-Row later to Princess Renner.
At least I had some knowledge of this place, owing to have come here with my brothers and father a few times. My haste was aided by the wish to escape the filth of the peasantry.
Arriving in the Nobles' Quarters of the city, I found myself a little confused upon arriving at the estate of the noble I was supposed to meet; Count Iselk.
There seemed to be groups of commoners entering the estate alongside other groups of commoners leaving the estate, except now they carried items of value. I was almost tempted to assume that these were burglars, but the guards that let the peasants in and out of the estate said otherwise.
Approaching one of the guards, a man in gray holding an odd spear, I found myself asking, "Excuse me, might I know what is happening? Why are people leaving with valuable items?"
The man looked at me and gave a snort, "The Count is giving away his possessions, young man. I'd recommend that you go inside and grab something before it's all gone." Young man? The man barely looked any older than me.
Reaching into my pack, I fished around until I found the letter from Father. Then, I pulled it out and showed it to the guard. "Would you be willing to tell me where Count Iselk is? It is important that I must speak to him."
Oddly, the man's eye's narrowed, and he seemed suddenly hostile to me. I even think he had the same kind of disease as the peasant, Shy-Row, since his eyes turned slitted for a moment.
"Might I see that letter?" He asked cooly. Odd that the guard must see the letter instead of the Count, but I assume that Iselk does things slightly differently around here.
Handing it over, the guard put on some spectacles, broke the seal to the letter, and quickly began skimming through its contents. It was odd to see his expression change from hostility, up to incredulous.
His eyes flickered to me, and I thought I almost saw pity in them, before they become humorous. He folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope before handing it to me once again.
"You can go in. Iselk is in his study. If you need any help after your meeting, come back here. Good luck." The guard said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Thank you." I said appreciatively and began walking through the gates behind another group of peasants. I could hear howling laughter behind me, and when I turned back, I saw the guard joined by another, with both doubled over laughing.
The first guard was pointing in my direction, and I assumed that they must be laughing at the group of peasants ahead of me. Must be some joke that I wasn't aware of.
A minute more, and I entered the doors of Count Iselk's estate. It was there that I bore witness to how bare the entire house was. Fixtures, carpeting, furniture, all of it was gone or in the process of being taken. It took me some time, moving through the throngs of peasants, before I eventually found the study with objects of value littered outside.
Upon entering, my nose became assaulted by a horrid stench. Looking around, I found the source to be quite horrific. It was a corpse in the midst of decaying. Beyond that, I found a man with unkempt hair and an untrimmed beard muttering to himself as he picked up some objects and carried them to the door.
It was when I got a clearer view of his face that I realized it was Count Iselk. "Count Iselk?" I asked.
"Get rid of it all. Don't need it all. She doesn't want me to have it. I have nothing." By the time he acknowledged my presence, it was lacking any recognition for me.
"Just wait outside. Take from there. I will add to the pile. Just wait-" He muttered to me before I grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Count Iselk, I'm not one of the peasants that you've charitably been giving your possessions to. My Father sent me here for an important assignment with a letter to deliver to you." That grabbed the Count's attention as he looked to me, then to the letter I held out to him.
The Count quickly tossed the bundle of objects in his hands out the door of the study, then took the letter from my hands to read. His eyes raced through it, looking up to me at times as he did so. Upon completion, he gave a snort and a chuckle.
"More levity than I've had in weeks. Thanks for that, Philip." Count Iselk said, a bit of the tiredness in his eyes fading away.
"I assume that whatever joke Father put in that letter was quite amusing." I said with a chuckle of my own.
"Yes, the joke in the letter…" The Count said with a raised brow aimed at me. "Are you expecting something from me?"
"Well, that was the reason I came. Father said that you had an assignment for which was of utmost importance. And with the aid I received earlier, the Crown is involved as well."
Count Iselk gave me a flat look, "How…Just how clueless are you?" He started walking, while I followed, to the small pile of possessions remaining and picked them. Then, he went back to the front door and tossed them. The only thing left in the room were documents scattered on the floor.
"Not at all. I'm quite intelligent." That received a snort from Count Iselk as the man looked at me for a few moments. Then, he motioned me to come with his fingers as he walked over to the documents on the floor and rifled through them.
"It's astonishing to hear how much you think that." He said as he pulled out the document he was looking for, alongside a blank piece of parchment. From there, he looked around until he found a pot of ink and uncorked it. I couldn't see any writing instrument that Count Iselk could use, but the man improvised as he stuck his finger into the pot and began writing.
I, Count Iselk Bernard von Dalton II,
Hereby abdicate my titles, properties, and lands to Philip Dayton L'Eyre Montserrat.
-Iselk Bernard von Dalton II
Upon signing his name, he handed me the paper, alongside the deed to this estate. I was taken aback by the forfeiture of all of Coun- I mean, Iselk's properties and titles. But it must mean that this was my true assignment!
Father had convinced Iselk to give me everything as he could see my greatness!
"You now have everything. Have fun and try to not fuck it up, but who am I kidding? As Iselk said this, he began walking to the door of the study, stripping his clothes off as he did so.
"But what else in Father's letter must I do? What else was in Father's letter to convince you to do this so suddenly?" I found myself curious about the letter at this point, wondering what Father must have said?
And for that matter, why was Iselk taking off his clothes?!
"Nothing that you need to know about. It doesn't matter now. Nothing matters now!" As Iselk said this, his voice a mixture between crazed and despair, he removed the last of his clothing and I averted my eyes so that I needn't be forced to witness his nudity.
"But what is it that you are planning to do now, Iselk?" When I heard no response, I cautiously looked to where the former Count had been to see he was now gone, leaving me alone in the study.
I took another glance at the parchment in my hands, thinking about my newfound status as a count. It appears that Iselk trusted in my judgement and experience enough to rule by myself. I grinned at the new advancement in my life, and considered how I would begin.
Looking down upon my ruined clothes, I then glanced to the newly discarded wardrobe of Iselk's. With a sigh, I hoped that Iselk's clothing would fit me.
Additionally, I would also need to plan out a feast to celebrate my new ascension in status. I would have to acquire a list of the most prestigious nobles in the city to invite.
Perhaps I should go ask the guard at the gate. He appeared to be quite knowledgeable, for a peasant. Enough so that Iselk trusted the man to read letters addressed to him.
I have so many things to do, one of which is to claim whatever objects still remained on the grounds of the estate for myself!
Quickly, I began running for the door.
[Tsunami]
Making my way through the grand temple of the capital was absurdly child's play. I remember first infiltrating this false building of worship and expecting it to contain the multitude of detection magics and wards that one of Lady Inari's temples might have. Color me surprised when the most I needed to do was cast a simple invisibility spell and quietly move about.
Either this religious order was full of imbeciles who thought the strongest protection was a few guards, the inhabitants of this temple were too weak to conjure even a basic ward, or they were arrogant enough to believe that none would attempt to infiltrate the very heart of this kingdom's religious order. Personally, based on what I've seen of the people in this temple, it was a mixture of all three.
It only made apparent how different and, dare I say it, backwards this Realm was compared to the other realms of Yggdrasil. Yet, this did help to highlight my Kashia's wonderful intelligence and competence.
From what little has been learned of my Kashia's history, she was born in a Realm beyond the touch of Yggdrasil's branches. Lady Inari had been drawn to the Realm called 'Earth', a parallel to Midgard, due to the faint remnants of worship towards her that still remained in the lands. Yet, this 'Earth' was broken beyond repair; dying a slow death.
But somehow, Lady Inari found a mortal she fell for; birthing a beautiful daughter in that almost magicless Realm.
And then, my Kashia had to endure tragedies that left her all alone without Lady Inari or her Consort in that Realm. That Realm of humans who had no respect for how much of a blessing they had been given in the form of my Kashia. My Love should have been raised among her own people who would've praised and pampered her the way that she deserves!
After all, besides being a kind and beautiful demigoddess, my Kashia is a prodigy among kitsune as she managed to attain her original nine tails before reaching a century of age! She hadn't even reached three decades of age, but she now attained her tenth tail.
Before her, the most number of tails a kitsune has ever gotten within a century is three. The youngest to reach nine tails was over five centuries old! All of it pointed to how special she truly was.
Slipping by a pair of priests amusingly discussing about the rumors of Barbro's transformation, I approached my true point of interest. It was a set of doors with two paladins standing guard at. This was the meeting chamber of the High Priests of the kingdom's religion.
Ducking around a corner, and ensuring that my casting wasn't going to be spotted by any random passersby, I cast a spell of my own creation: [Ghost Walk]. It took a few months to fully create the proper spell array that wouldn't lead to any unfortunate side-effects. Months more to master the mana manipulation to alter my form.
But by the end of it, I created an extremely useful spell that allowed for undetected infiltration when combined with invisibility spells. It allowed me to kill a great many dwarven officers that felt safe behind their little walls, never expecting an unseen threat that could simply walk through them.
It was always a strange experience to feel my body discorporate and become less than air. Yet, the utility of the spell was completely worth the minor discomfort I felt from it.
I didn't even bother walking around the corner, and instead walked directly through the wall and towards the guarded doors of the room. With a mocking smile, I strode past the two unsuspecting guards and walked through the doors to the meeting chamber of these misguided humans. It was there that I saw the five religious leaders sitting around a table in intense debate.
To the side of them, a single servant stood by to serve the group refreshments, something that he had been quite busy with due to the heavy scent of wine on Jonah's breath. Said Head High Priest was gazing at his fellows around the circular table with his blue eyes slightly unfocused and lidded.
The faint pink touching his cheeks also gave evidence to his inebriation. His robes and hat, covered in a mixture of red, blue, green, and brown, were slightly unkempt, unlike those of the other priests. It was both amusing and fun to see this human degrade from the prim and proper appearance of two weeks ago, to the beginnings of a slobbish drunk. After all, looking into the man's history, he wasn't someone to pity in the slightest.
None of the men in this room were.
"We need to crush these rumors immediately! They have been growing out of hand!" Isaac, wearing blue robes, reminded me of a rabid dog with the way he frothed at this declaration. Then again, given how the beasts were such dull creatures with instincts only to kill or submit to the first person to throw them a slab of meat, it was fitting.
"Please, Isaac," Nolan said in attempted pacification. He wore green robes, and my nose scrunched at the stench emitting from his loins. Likely had a venereal disease that he hasn't noticed or hasn't cured just yet. "We have to think this through and be careful with our next move."
Isaac turned his attention to Nolan and glared. "You want us to take care when heresy is rapidly spreading within the capital of an upstart sorceress bitch lauding herself as a goddess?!" My eyes immediately turned to glare at the man, and it took some effort on my part to not kill him immediately due to the insult he gave my Kashia.
I would enjoy altering his mind tonight. Perhaps, I might even throw in something new for him? Like the urge to fornicate with cows.
Oscar; a man in red robes, held his hand, bejeweled in gold and precious stones, to Isaac. "My friend, what I believe Nolan is trying to say is that the Church cannot afford to display weakness right now. If we crusade against this false religion in such an overt and violent way, it will make the public think that the Church is afraid. If the public sees our fear, then they become afraid and stop coming to our temples and donating."
"Then what do you suggest?" Isaac's tone became more level, though the clenching of his fist showed how much aggression he still had.
"To deal with the matter in a covert manner."
A grunt of approval came from Haldur as he filled his mouth with grapes. Some of the juices ran down his chin and beard, with a few droplets staining his brown robes. "Yes," Haldur said as he swallowed the grapes and stuffed a few more into his mouth. "We must permanently silence these talks of the false-" Haldur swallowed the grapes and stuffed the rest that had been in his bowl before holding out the empty bowl to the servant to fill, "-goddess before they can truly take hold."
Finally, Jonah spoke up, a slight slur in his speech, "Send the Punishment Squad to permanently silence t-those who are the main spreaders of these r-rumors. Make it l-look like an accident or the outcome o-of a robbery." Jonah took a swig from his chalice and continued, "Do we know of w-where these talks a-are spreading from the most?"
"A large concentration of these talks seems to be coming from the Adventurer's Guild. Otherwise, it comes from the nobles and workers of the castle due to where this Fox Princess has been seen." Nolan replied.
Jonah rubbed his eyes for a moment, as if to attain some clarity, before he nodded. "Send agents t-to the Adventurer's Guild and the castle to d-discover the source. Then we a-act. In the meantime…" The Head High Priest took a moment to find his words before he spoke again, "We p-perform charity work throughout the city."
"One problem with that is Princess Renner's charity has already been handling most of the needs in the city." Oscar countered. "There wouldn't be enough people in need of our aid that could reasonably be used in any form of propaganda campaign without it appearing inauthentic."
"T-Then we find a-a way to push out Princess Renner's charity." My eyes narrowed at the idea. I could either wipe the idea from their minds and replace it with something more incompetent or Renner and I could prepare a retaliation that would make her look good while ruining the Church's reputation.
Though allowing it to happen came the risk of the unexpected as zealots can be unpredictable in their actions. Hmm…
A smile came to my face as I thought of another idea entirely. I alter the idea in their minds for them to 'try' and give aid while butting in on Renner's charity, but make their aid so half-assed that the commoners hate it.
Like putting a monetary fee on things that Renner would give for free as a 'charitable tax', only lower the price of healing others, use the cheapest goods so that the Church looks miserly. A host of small annoyances that would add up to resentment of this terrible help. How wonderful.
"Good idea. Though, we may need to add some fees or distribute commercially cheap food and goods. I fear that we'll need enough funds to bribe a few nobles to hinder Princess Renner's charity and stifle talk of this Fox Princess in court." Oscar added, greed filling his eyes as he said this.
I had to hold myself back from howling in laughter at how I hadn't even needed to lift a finger to enact my plan. They were doing it for me!
And from the slew of nods coming from the rest of the High Priests, they were also in agreement. These foolish humans were astonishingly out of touch with their largest demographic of followers or perhaps my edits to their minds was affecting them more than expected. They likely believed that whatever faith their followers had in the Church would balance out their lacking charity.
Still, it would be best to take precautions. I would make some further minor edits, just in case.
After the droll meeting of the High Priests finally concluded, I waited for them to leave and made my rounds to all of them as they went to their different areas in the temple.
It was mostly mundane work, with little excitement besides the amusement I felt in my little retribution against Isaac by instilling a new lustful fascination with hoofed creatures of the four-legged persuasion.
Following that, it was a simple journey through the rest of the Grand Temple before I finally exited onto the streets of the capital.
Even with the false gods this temple worshipped, it was grandiose enough that, with some proper adjustments, it would be a perfect hub to spread my Kashia's influence throughout the rest of the kingdom. But another, slightly more selfish, thought comes to mind. Later, down the line, my Kashia and I could have our wedding ceremony here. Our love would be seen by all the people of this kingdom!
Oh, I could only imagine it now. Lady Inari would oversee our ceremony, we would declare our vows and kiss. And then, that night, I would show her greater pleasure than Lukrut could ever try to match.
My legs rubbed against one another in pleasure at the sheer thought of her body against mine, but alas, I had to control myself.
I made certain to become visible in a secluded area before walking upon the streets once again. It was time for me to head back to the castle and inform Renner about our needed preparations.
The journey back to the castle was a simple affair, with the only moments interrupting the monotony being when a daring human would approach and proposition me. I would turn all of these attempts down, much to their disappointment and my amusement. I was certain that the rest of my trek would be like this until something changed.
An oddity filled my nose, making me shiver, as I could smell the sweet scent of my Kashia in the air. It wasn't heavy, and might've even been missed by any other kitsune if they weren't so intimately aware of my beautiful goddess like I was. It drew my interest and I followed after it with haste.
Weaving my way through the crowds on the street, that faint scent continued to grow stronger, and it made me wonder how my Kashia might be related to it. As the minutes ticked by, I grew more excitable upon drawing closer to the source of my Love's scent.
This finally led me to the front of the building that I knew to be the capital's Magician Guild branch. If I remembered correctly, a few of my Kashia's worshippers were heading to the capital to proselytize my Love's greatness.
If that's the case, It would behoove me to check on their progress. I did also need to get measure of this city's guild, especially if they could be usable for any future plans of Renner and I.
I think I'll first go inside as a potential client, do a bit of a check on what wards and protections the building had in place. Then come back invisibly later to explore.
With my course of action settled, I subtly cast another spell that I invented during the war against the dwarves called [Ward Sight]. It had been beyond useful during my infiltration and assassination missions. Following this, I marched up the steps of the guild and opened the door to get a look inside.
I found myself internally smirking at the wards I already spotted just past the threshold. If I had to guess, based on the design of its array, this ward would send out an alert if someone using a basic invisibility spell stepped past it. Other than that, I didn't see much in the way of protection from scrying.
I'd guess that the wards might be elsewhere, they only had certain places that they wished to ward, or that there was a material in this building's construction that was meant to obstruct scrying. There were wards meant to reinforce the walls from damage though.
While there were more protections and defenses here than I've seen in the other places of the kingdom, it was absolutely laughable by the standards of greater Yggdrasil. And for this being a place of magic research and learning, it was shameful.
At least, with my Kashia's involvement with the branches of the Magician's Guild, their standards would jump dramatically. Looking to the front counter where a guild clerk stood, I made my way over until I stood before them. The man was of average appearance with greasy blond hair and patchy stubble across his face.
His dull brown eyes seemed to become attentive as I drew near. Though, it was expected since I wasn't at all unaware of my appearance. The endless hounding I received of the castle's staff and guards was testament to that. While I would never reciprocate their feelings, my appearance was so useful in manipulating them to do what I wished.
"Greetings, Miss. How might I help you today?" The man asked, his interest in me just seeping off of his skin.
Putting on a charming smile, I answered, "My mistress sent me here to inquire about a few of the services that the Magician's Guild might be able to perform for her."
"Please, Miss, go ahead and ask. The Magician's Guild is capable of a great many feats through the use of magic, so I'm certain that we will have a service of interest to your mistress."
We'll just have to see about that. Let's try a few simple things and see how competent they are. "One service my mistress wants to know about is if the Magician's Guild has any type of magic that could be used to preserve food stores?" The clerk held up his finger to ask for a moment before he reached under the counter and pulled out a book.
Opening it, he flipped through the pages and I read through the numerous services that the guild could provide, with names attached to the more specialized help. I would admit that having a catalogue which gave the names of those specialized in certain spells and services was a smart idea for an organization like the Magician's Guild.
But it also served as a double-edged sword. The catalogue could tell a malicious actor about which mages to go after and kidnap if they wanted to cripple a service or torture whatever specific knowledge they wanted from a mage. At least, that would be the normal case for this Realm. In others, said mages could be magically compelled to work for another, killed and reanimated as an undead servant, or have the knowledge ripped from their mind. And those were just a few of the things that could be done.
If they were to have a catalogue like this, then they shouldn't display it so openly to the public. Otherwise people like me would take the chance to memorize whatever is being shown in the book for later use. And I already had a good many ideas in mind with the information I was being shown.
After a few moments more, the clerk finally stopped on a page and pointed it out. "Here we are. Belloc Reese is a mage with an area of study in such spells. He also has a secondary specialization in enchantments, if you have interest in that."
"Quite possibly." I said with a nod. "Now, what about creating magic items?"
"Such work is done by the crafters on a commission basis. The price of which varies based upon the enchantment type, the item and materials you want enchanted, and the time involved in the item's creation. I will inform you that prices for those services can get quite costly."
Interesting. I wonder how much an enchanted item made here is compared to the other Realms? "Would you be able to give me an estimate of the prices?"
"Of course, Miss." The clerk nodded. "Extremely basic enchanted items could start at ten gold, such as a simple ring with the ability to act as a light. A ring to detect poison could go for 15-20 gold. Enchanted weapons could go from 20-50 gold at their cheapest. Full sets of armor have been known to run up hundreds of gold at times."
A lot more expensive than the other realms, and probably for weaker items as well. Likely had to do with how much rarer enchanted items were here. "I see."
"Were there any other services that you had interest in?"
I shook my head. "Not at the moment. My mistress just had interest in those two services for the time being."
"If you would like, I believe I could arrange an meeting between you and Belloc. He should be in the guild working on a project at the moment, so you would only need to wait a short while." The clerk offered, to which I nodded in agreement. Had to keep up appearances of a servant learning about these services for her mistress.
"Then, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to one of the offices to wait in." The clerk moved from behind his counter and motioned for me to follow. As I did so, I continued keeping my eyes open for the defenses of this place which, so far, were severely lacking.
As we went up the stairs at the end of the guild hall, my nose picked up the growing scent of my Kashia that appeared to come from a hallway on the second floor behind some doors. I felt disappointment as the clerk led us away from the source of my Kashia's scent, but then one of the doors of the rooms in that hallway opened and a pair of mages came out and walked further down the hallway to another room.
"-fection has still taken hold of the subjects. Using substances to suppress magic has not shown great effect-" The pair soon entered another door and their conversation became muffled behind it. Yet, what I found concerning is what I could infer to be them talking about some type of infection. A magic based infection that could be detrimental if it affected those consuming my Kashia's blood.
I definitely needed to investigate this place now.
"-my asking, Miss, but what is your name?" I concentrated upon the clerk just in time to pick up what he said.
"Suzanne Zorra." I replied.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Suzanne. My name is Colin." Colin replied, attempting smalltalk that I couldn't really care less about. Colin then stopped by a door and opened it to reveal a small room with a table and a few chairs. "If you'll wait here, I'll bring Belloc over to meet with you."
"Thank you, Colin." I said, stepping inside and taking a seat. I stayed silent, waiting and listening, I could hear the noise of the rabble outside as they went about their business, chatting and walking. Nothing I heard was of much use as the mages talked of rudimentary concepts that I already knew like they were major advancements.
It was minutes of waiting like this until the sound of footfalls came to my door, and the door handle turned. Looking over, I saw a man in a black robe enter. He had greasy, blond hair that was slicked back and gray eyes that showed a tiredness. But he did attempt to try and appear friendly since I was a potential client.
Something that my nose picked up were the traces of my Kashia's scent upon him. Yet, it wasn't in the same way that one who consumed her blood might emit it. Instead, it was something secondary, like he had been handling it. Interesting.
"Greetings, Suzanne Zorra. I'm Belloc Reese." He approached and held out his hand, and I shook it before the man sat down across from me at the table. "So, from what Colin has told me, you and your employer have an interest in magic that can preserve food?"
I nodded. "Yes, Mr. Belloc. My mistress wanted to find ways to preserve foods so as to last through travel and storage. We were hoping that there might be a way to do so with magic."
"A reasonable thought." Belloc complimented, "How much food would your mistress want preserved?"
"How much are you able to preserve, Mr. Belloc?"
"And there comes the slight issue." Belloc began. "Preservation magic, due to it being harder to perform and a newer study in the Re-Estize Kingdom, isn't known by many. Additionally, there is a time limit to the magic that causes it to eventually fade after a few days unless reapplied. Combine that with the amount of mana it takes, and it makes the magic limited in scope."
Belloc cupped his chin in thought, doing mental calculations, before he spoke again, "I could probably cast the magic on up to four barrels of food at most. And that's if I didn't cast any other spells that day. And from what I've seen, it would last five days before needing a reapplication."
This Realm's version of preservation magic was quite weak in comparison to the Realm of Foxes. Ours could last weeks, even months if more mana was used in the spell. And we weren't so limited as to a few measly barrels.
Besides that, it absolutely floored me how the kingdom wasn't fully investing themselves in training mages to use preservation magic on their foods. They had the tools, yet they disregarded it because of a bias towards magic being weak and cowardly.
"And, theoretically, how much would such a service cost to my mistress?"
"It would come down to 6 gold per barrel. And while I'm well aware that it is a high price, there is justification behind it." Belloc answered, making me internally scoff. Of course it was an absurd price. But I had an idea as to why that was.
"What justification might explain why such a service would cost so much, Mr. Belloc?"
"There are very few mages capable of casting [Preservation] in the guild. Two beyond just me. Because of that, with the amount of mana necessary, any of us would be limiting ourselves from continuing further magical studies for the rest of the day since we wouldn't have the mana to perform them. The cost is to make up for the research that we wouldn't be capable of performing."
As Belloc said this, another reason, unspoken by the man, also came to mind. It was a way to scare off noble clients so that they wouldn't constantly ask for that service. After all, it was unwise to directly tell a noble that you didn't want to do a job for them, especially because the members of the Magician's Guild lacked the political power to weather through the temperaments of upset nobles.
"Oh, I think I understand, Mr. Belloc." I demurely agreed, before giving the man a coquettish gaze. "Intelligent and busy mages, like yourself, must have a lot of work to do every day" It was amusing to see Belloc slightly flush at my compliment.
"W-Well," Belloc coughed into his hand for a moment to settle himself, "Thank you for the compliment. I think that, d-depending on the quantity, we could arrange for a discount of two less gold per barrel if your mistress would be open to the idea, Miss Suzanne."
Acting like I was surprised by such a generous offer, I replied, "M-Most certainly, Mr. Belloc! My mistress would be enormously pleased to hear of this! Thank you!"
"You're welcome. When might we hear back from you about your employer's decision?"
"Only a few days, Mr. Belloc. My mistress is quite fast on whatever decision she makes, good sir." I answered. It was such a fun game to manipulate people like this.
"Marvelous. Is there anything else you wished to ask about?" I shook my head.
"You've explained everything so well, Mr. Belloc. I don't have any questions left that need to be asked." Saying this, I stood up from my seat, and Belloc copied my action.
"Allow me to lead you out, Miss Suzanne." Belloc said, reaching the door and opening it for me to go through first.
Playfully, I gave the man a gentle squeeze on his arm, "You are such a gentleman, Mr. Belloc. Please, lead the way." A large smile grew on the mage's face as he did so. As he lead me, I made certain to memorize all the sections of the building's layout for my infiltration later.
It was while Belloc led me back to the guildhall, another man came from the hallway of my Kashia's scent. He looked quite old compared to a lot of humans here, but I found it very interesting to see his eyes seem to widen as they looked upon me. I pretended to not notice and instead continued to gaze around the guild like I was a fascinated tourist.
But I could easily tell that the old man had increased his pace to meet us at the stairs. How quaint.
As we drew near, Belloc called out in greeting, "Good day, Guildmaster Arlan."
Arlan put on a friendly smile that didn't meet his eyes, "You as well, Belloc. Who is this young lady that you appear to be escorting?" I found myself internally snickering at the question. I was older than both of these men combined.
I decided to speak up, acting a mix of startled and impressed, "Oh! I'm actually speaking to the guildmaster?!" I asked Belloc, receiving a nod. In response, I turned my attention back to the man and gave him a curtsy. "My name is Suzanne Zorra, Guildmaster Arlan."
"A pleasure. If you mind me asking, what brings you to the guild today?"
"My mistress sent me to ask if there were a few services that were in the abilities of the guild to provide. And from what it appears, your guild is quite capable of doing so." I answered, studying how Arlan appeared to look at me with a suspicious gaze hidden under the veneer of friendliness.
"I see. And if I might be so bold, who is this mistress that you're employed under?"
It would probably allay some of the elderly mage's suspicions if I said it was Renner, but I think it best if I try to act like it's something that must be kept secret.
Looking over my shoulder with an expression of nervousness, I leaned a little closer to the elderly man and loudly whispered, "Please, keep what I say to you in utmost confidentiality, but I am a maid in the employ of her Highness, Princess Renner."
Arlan appeared surprised at my admittance, before he gave a nod, the suspicion in his gaze lessened, but not removed. "I understand. Quite a few of our noble clients also prefer anonymity at times." After he said this, he surprised me by asking, "Though I do find it quite interesting that a mage of your strength would work as a simple maid."
My expression of surprise was actually real for once as I didn't expect a person here that was capable of using a spell to sense mana, mostly due to how backwards this Realm was. Guess I'll keep this in mind for the future.
"How did you know?" I asked, still maintaining the surprised look even after I had calmed myself.
"It is a Talent of mine. I am adept at seeing the mana within beings and objects. And compared to those in the guild, you have a high amount of mana." He replied, making me mentally giggle at how I could overlook such a simple oddity of this Realm.
Studying a bit of the phenomenon, most Talents that the rare few were blessed with were quite useless. Aside from my Kashia's daughter, Ninya, and that one alchemist, I haven't heard of another Talent that was actually useful.
Compared to a normal human, the amount of mana I have must look colossal. That would also lead into my employ with Renner appearing suspicious. Better counter those suspicions with a lie of my own.
Appearing embarrassed, I spoke, "I-If you are so willing to tell me of your Talent, then it's only fair to tell you of mine. My Talent gives me a higher amount of mana than others, but I've unfortunately never been that competent of a mage. Quite ironic of the gods to bless a failed mage like me with such a Talent."
That received an understanding nod from Arlan. "Such things can happen. It is only a shame that you have been unable to utilize your talent to its full effectiveness."
I smiled at the man, as if his sympathy was relieving. "But that doesn't matter, as through the gods' good graces, I was blessed to be touched by my mistress' kindness. And to help a truly good person like her is a gift all on its own."
"I'm glad that you haven't let such a setback diminish your good spirits. I won't keep you any longer as I've no doubt that your mistress will wish to hear whatever it is that you have to say." Arlan then added with a chuckle, "Good things, I hope?"
"Of course, Guildmaster Arlan." I then curtsied to him once more. "Thank you for taking the time to speak with this simple servant." Arlan nodded and stepped aside, gesturing to the stairway as he did so. With this, Belloc and I went down the steps and towards the exit as the guildmaster called one of his staff over.
It was what I overheard him say next that put me on guard. "Send a few people to follow and monitor that woman. Something feels off about her."
Appears that he didn't completely fall for the demure maid act. If I had to guess, he possibly suspected me to be a spy of the Baharuth Empire. From what I knew about the Magician's Guild, they tended to have issues with Imperial spies trying to steal their research.
He might've even tried something while we were talking, if he hadn't held back. Possibly, it was because I mentioned being employed by Renner. If he had been wrong, he'd have made an enemy of the Royal Family. The people he was sending to tail me were likely being used to verify if I was working for Renner.
If not, they'd probably try to capture and interrogate me. Not that any attempt would work. I can't afford to kill whoever followed me, and it would be both less work and take some suspicion off of myself if I led them to the castle.
Guess I'll have to deal with some human stalkers for a short time.
After allowing my followers to accompany me back to the castle, I waited for them to head back to their guild to report to Arlan. Then, I went back out once more and followed after them. As I did so, I sent a [Message] to Renner.
'I completed my assignment at the temple. Something has caught my eye about the Magician's Guild in the city and I plan to investigate it. I'll be back within an hour or two.' As I sent this, I ducked into an alley and jumped to the rooftops before lowering my disguise, freeing up my tails and ears. Then, I continued stalking my unsuspecting targets.
'Should I be concerned about it?' Renner asked in reply.
'I'm not certain. That's what I'm planning to find out.' I jumped to another roof and kept my gaze upon the mages who tried following me.
'Let me know how it goes.'
A snort of amusement came from me. 'Did you even need to ask?'
'I guess not. But who knows? People can do with reminders at times.' That got a short giggle from me.
'I highly doubt that we're the type of people that ever need reminders. We're a little smarter than that.' I remarked back as I made another leap to the next roof.
I didn't receive a response for a few moments, but when I did, I found myself slightly surprised. 'See you soon, Tsu.'
Renner soon ended her connection to the [Message] and I was left to my thoughts. That little nickname she gave me was a first for her. She knew I would notice it, but that brings about the question of what she was actually saying. It could be a continued play of our little game.
It might also imply that she has a tiny degree of fondness for me. I wouldn't fully…disagree that I had similar thoughts. After all, in my centuries of living, I've never found someone I could claim as an intellectual equal who had a similar mindset to mine.
Intelligence could be so isolating.
Even my beautiful and perfect Kashia, intelligent in her own right, didn't compare to me. It was why I am a perfect match for her as a mate. I could cover that area she was lacking.
One day, my Kashia would understand.
It wasn't much longer until I could smell Arlan standing outside the guild, waiting for his little spies to return. I made certain to stay out of eyesight of the man so that his Talent wouldn't be able to notice me.
As the little mages approached the guild, Arlan was already quickly talking before they had a moment to rest. "What did you find?" He asked. I was already out of sight of the man and
The tallest mage of the group replied, "The woman does appear to work at the castle. Guards let her in without issue, even knew her."
Arlan was silent for a moment, then he spoke. "Good to hear. Her mana didn't seem like that of the infected, and it appears that she wasn't a Baharuth spy. Still, we'll have to keep an eye on her the next time she comes back."
Infected? There was that word again. What infection was he talking about that involves mana? I found my eyes narrowing before I cast [Complete Invisibility] and [Ghost Walk] upon myself.
I waited for Arlan and his spies to head back into the guild before I made my move. Depending on how the man's Talent worked, he might be able to see through my invisibility, so I had to be mindful of wherever he might be going as a precaution.
Jumping to the ground, I quietly sprinted to the wall of the guild and jumped through it before exiting on the other side into the guildhall. My eyes fixed on Arlan's back as he traveled up the stairway and into what I assumed to be his office before closing the door behind himself.
Arlan is out of the way, but I couldn't be confident for how long. I had to be fast, and keep near the walls so that I could go through them if the elderly mage suddenly decided to come out of his office.
Upon getting close enough to the stairway, I jumped from where I was against the wall and onto the fifth stair. Then, I made another jump to reach the second floor. Keeping near the wall, I made my way over to the hallway with my Kashia's scent and ducked through the wall, emerging on the other side to a sterile room with tables and statues. Three of these tables held sleeping mages with manacles on their wrists and ankles.
Due to the innately magical nature of kitsune, I could just feel that each of these manacles had suppression enchantments upon them that would likely nullify most spellcasting of the 2nd Tier and lower. Beside the table of each comatose mage were an array of potions that I walked over to and smelled.
Most of the ingredients used were unfamiliar to me, but I did recognize one. Mage Bane. Typically used as a poison to reduce a magic caster's ability, if not disable it completely in larger doses. Pulling away, I continued my investigation and studied the next point of interest.
The statues were immensely concerning. I knew a petrification spell when I saw one, and seven mages were all frozen in sleeping states like the ones on the tables. Then, there was the shared commonality between the sleeping mages and the statues; they all smelled like ones who consumed my Kashia's blood.
What is going on? Something about this didn't add up. They talked of an infection, yet these people all appeared healthy. More than that, why was this infection not affecting more if that was the case?
My ear twitched at the voices of humans in the next room. Perhaps I would learn more from them?
Phasing through the wall and entering another room, I found my hand slowly curl into a fist as I put together exactly what was going on. It enraged me on behalf of my Kashia.
In this room, I saw a woman I recognized to be one of my Kashia's Maidens. Unlike the mages in the previous room, this woman's bindings were extreme. Multiple manacles went up her arms and wrists. I saw a few rings on her fingers which I could feel did the same task as the manacles. This was matched by a circlet and multitude of amulets around her neck.
The empty potion bottles next to her table told me that her spellcasting ability was likely completely suppressed. More than that, it was dangerously suppressed. Cutting off someone so completely from mana when they were a mage that was deeply magically inclined would be akin to starving them.
Her body would be unused to being so completely cut off from mana that it wouldn't know how to adapt. Let it go on long enough, and she would die. But I found myself also worried about how much of these magic nullifying potions they've forced into her. It could very well lead into her spellcasting ability being permanently ruined or destroyed entirely.
For kitsune, this would be an act of torture, one so readily used upon us when the dwarves attacked. Even I, with my lax concept of morals, found this abhorrent.
What made it worse is that I could see a pair of mages draining blood from the woman's arms, collecting it in vials. One of these mages was Belloc, explaining why I could smell my Kashia's scent upon his hands.
The other, a woman I could recognize, put the collected blood onto a cart before looking to Belloc. "Think that this round of treatments might work to remove the infection within her body?"
"I'm not certain. This infection has been extremely difficult to remove. Each time we seem to suppress the mana in the subject's blood, it doesn't seem to take and ends up regenerating." While Belloc said this, he pulled the white-haired half-elf's eyelid open to reveal that the large amount of gold in her eyes no longer glowed like it should, and now appeared faded and dull.
They're trying to forcefully remove my Kashia's blessing.
For a moment, I could see her eye regaining some awareness before the female mage next to her reacted. "[Forced Sleep]."
This immediately caused the Maiden's eye to lose that growing awareness, and Belloc let her eyelid close. "At least our tests show some reaction against the infection. That gold in her eyes gets dimmer each day." Belloc commented.
Now, I believe it's time to deal with these humans for their sins against my Kashia. My beautiful mate wouldn't need to sully her claws against such specimen as I would take care of them in her stead.
Casting [Paralyze] on both, I finally spoke. "Obviously it would. Your experiments are killing her. Thankfully, I showed up to deal with this so that my wonderful Fox Princess wouldn't have to."
I let both of the spells affecting me finally cease, so that both of these sinners knew exactly who it was that is punishing them.
Changing from my dull maid outfit to the clothes designed in honor to my Kashia's, I entered into view of the two humans with a smile.
"Hello, Belloc. I believe that I have my mistress' answer for you now…"
[Baron Montserrat's Letter]
Dear Count Iselk Bernard von Dalton II,
I write this letter to you with a request in utter desperation. My failed son, Philip, has become too bothersome for my family to continue allowing his presence to remain. He is, above all of his countless failings, an absolute an utter moron who would have been left to die in a ditch were he born to any other family. At least, he'd actually be useful as fertilizer for the fields, and even then, I have reason to suspect that he would bungle that up.
It's why I beg for your help. As a Montserrat, and the progenitor of that incompetent creature that spawned from my loins, I cannot be seen to have performed a favor to this kingdom by removing the wretch myself. But you, my friend, have always been of utmost value and trust in removing 'undesirable burdens' leeching off of the names of good families.
Regardless, I hope that it doesn't come to this, and with all luck, Philip dies on the road to E-Rantel due to how little I've given him to assist in his journey. What only reinforced this decision of mine is how utterly gullible, and astonishingly oblivious, my spawn was as he did not question why I sent him with so little supplies or aid. He completely believed that I was sending him on a task to aid the house of Montserrat.
In a way, I am.
Sadly, like a headless cockroach, the daft moron has the uncanny ability to come out of perilous situations unscathed and a renewed confidence that it was due to his own imagined genius. If he does manage to arrive to you, take care of him.
I do not care what you have to do, and I have no wish to know. Ensure that the worthless sprout of my seed can no longer sully my family's name, and I will repay this debt to you in whatever way I can.
Your friend,
Baron Severen Dallus L'Rous Montserrat