A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 52: Nobly Stealing Hearts and Gold
[Kashia]
"My liege!" Gazef was the first to respond, his training and discipline likely taking over and forcing him to rush to the throne, through the crowd of stunned or screaming nobles. Sad to say that even I was stunned for a few moments, not exactly in fear, but more from being absolutely baffled that the first king I've ever met ends up having a heart attack, most likely due to me helping to cause it.
I could also say that there was a bit of morbid amusement at how most of the people in this room were running about like headless chickens instead of focusing on the situation at hand. As Gazef reached the throne, followed by the guards trying to establish some measure of order, the 'Kingdom's Strongest Warrior' sat Ramposa up from where he was slumped, pushing the Swine Prince aside as he did so.
A cursory examination, and Gazef called out, "Call for a priest! The King needs healing!"
That was enough to snap me out of my idleness and stand up from my conjured throne before blinking over to Gazef who was busy carrying Ramposa off his throne to lay him on the carpeted floor. "Mind if I take a look?"
Gazef was hesitant for a moment as he looked from me to Ramposa. I could hear the king's breath growing shorter. He didn't have much time, and thinking about it, it was fairly impressive that the man has gone this long without such an event happening sooner.
Ramposa is a man of an advanced age who likely has one of the most stressful jobs of dealing with corrupt or disobedient vassals, the looming threat of famine and war, Eight Fingers and all it entails, and deciding which of his two sons to name successor while knowing that civil war will probably break out upon doing so.
Add in the lack of a lot of modern medical practices and technologies, and it became a feat to live to his age.
Finally, the warrior nodded and I knelt down next to him and looked over Ramposa's prone form. Aside from benevolent motives, I didn't want Ramposa to die due to the political ramifications that would come afterwards. Another reason is that Renner loves her father, and it would be amiss of me to let him die when I could save him.
"What are you doing, Gazef?! Don't let the witch near the King so that she can enchant him!" A noble cried out from behind us. Idiot.
Ignoring him, along with the added complaints of a few others, I performed quick casting of [Healing of Freyja] upon the king. This was quickly followed by Ramposa's eyes shooting open as he deeply inhaled. The hand that had been clutching at his heart tight enough to go bone-white finally let go. "W-What happened?" He slowly asked as Gazef sat him up.
"Heart attack, likely brought on by stress. It was probably just waiting for something shocking enough to trigger it." I answered while thinking about what I was able to tell from healing the man.
What I did only delayed the issue. Ramposa's heart is old and worn down. While I healed the damage, there wasn't much I could do to fix old age. I debated on telling him that here though.
I had just watched all of the nobles in the room fight over if Ramposa should still be sitting on the throne. The moment they heard that their king could have another heart attack in the future, there would be another massive argument among the nobles calling for him to abdicate. On the flip-side, With Barbro's obvious reasons for disqualification from becoming heir, it would leave the throne to Zanac.
Since Renner has managed to enlist Zanac's support in ascending to the throne, it would probably end with him abdicating to Renner. Yet, there were quite a few issues with that.
I was fairly positive that becoming queen in such a short amount of time was counter to whatever plans Renner had as she was still reinforcing her reputation and support among the commoners. If she lacked that enhanced support, then even with her brother's endorsement, the other nobles would try and depose her.
And while I can step in to defend her rule, that would make it appear to the nobles like I was using her as a puppet were it to happen just after I met with Ramposa and led to him vacating the throne. I had no true intention of doing so, but the implications would be too damning to dismiss.
I am following Renner's plan for this since she's a hell of a lot smarter than I am. I'll keep quiet about my observation and continue letting her run the show. Though, I would be sure to inform Renner of her father's condition, at the very least.
"I see…" Ramposa said with a heavy look. Then, he looked to me and gave a nod, "…Thank you." With this, he pushed himself to his feet, gently waving off any aid from Gazef as he did so.
I've little reason to doubt that he only did this to appear strong and dispel the notion of being an elderly king in his twilight years. Admirable, but a wasted gesture considering how many of the people here were onboard with his abdication just a few moments ago.
Ramposa's rule is on a timer now.
As Gazef and I stood with the king, there were a few suspicious murmurings among the nobles. I simply blinked back to my conjured throne and sat down once again as Ramposa went to his, despite a few recommendations that he rest after this event.
Then, the elderly king looked upon his transfigured son once again. "This is truly to be my son's punishment? Isn't there some other way?"
I shook my head. "My judgement is final. Barbro will not be restored as he is utterly deserving of the fate that he's suffering." A single glare of my eyes, alongside an intimidating flash of gold, got the pig quivering and making soft whines.
That painted a short smirk on my lips before I looked back to Ramposa. Yet, before we could continue, Ramposa and I were interrupted by the annoying nobles.
"Why even continue talking with this woman? For all we know, everything she said about Prince Barbro could be a fabrication!" A duke I knew to be Antonio Verst Resner accused while glaring hatefully at me. From the memories I had gone through, he was one of the nobles supporting Barbro's claim to the throne. Really must piss him off to see all the plans he had with Barbro as his ally turn to dust in the wind.
"Is it, though?!" Count Jarrod argued, nearly butting heads with the duke. "Because every single person arrested and investigated so far has turned out to be in league with Eight Fingers!"
Recalling a bit more of what I knew about Jarrod, there was something a bit further with this hatred of Eight Fingers. When it came to me, I did my best to hide the interest in my eyes.
Jarrod used to rule over an up-and-coming mining town by the Azerlisia Mountains. Enough so that he was even establishing the beginnings of a relationship with the dwarves. Explains a bit of why his beard is decorated and braided in a similar fashion to them.
Well, as it comes with the territory of starting a new mining operation in the kingdom, this little mining town was a new player entering the financial market for metals. At the same time, Eight Fingers and the nobles or merchants under them were in control of most of the market as an oligopoly.
As Jarrod wasn't an ally to any of the nobles or merchants nor was he corruptible enough to work with Eight Fingers, they decided to get rid of the competition. Soon enough, the mining town began experiencing accidents, the transports carrying the mined resources were constantly robbed, workers started going missing, and a drug problem sprouted up among the town's inhabitants.
Since he didn't have any exact proof on it being Eight Fingers or the merchants and nobles, there was little Jarrod could do besides hiring more guards and workers, burning into the man's finances to do so. Yet, he continued trying to persevere until the dwarven representatives he had been meeting with were murdered.
At that point, with the Dwarven Kingdom enraged at their people being murdered, Jarrod paid what restitution he could before shutting down the town and writing it off as a financial failure. Besides just the sabotage to the town, the moment the dwarves became outraged, mining anywhere near the Azerlisia Mountains became too risky as now the dwarves would sabotage the mines themselves.
With the potential competitor removed, Eight Fingers and their allies continued to enjoy their oligopoly over metals, both mined and imported, in the kingdom. The downside to all of this, and something that they either overlooked or were too shortsighted to care about, is that relations with the dwarves were set back immensely. And they would be harder to form in the future for others of the Re-Estize.
"You only say this because you support Prince Zanac for the throne!" Antonio spat back.
"And what would that make you," Jarrod gave a small shove to Antonio, "lacky of Barbro?!"
"I would say that it makes him reasonable enough to find doubt in this accusation, you beaded brute!" Baron Cheneko intervened.
Before the nobles could get into an argument and try to kill one another, both I and Ramposa shouted, "QUIET!/SILENCE!"
That drew the attention of all those present and silenced the arguing. "King Ramposa, I believe that we have had an…interesting discussion. But I have accomplished much of what I wished to discuss with you today. Perhaps we shall speak again when cooler heads are able to prevail?"
I had wished to discuss more, but with all the nobles here who continually butted in, it was bound to become too much of an effort corralling them. I mean, I could, but it would ruin any image of diplomacy that I was trying to exude.
"I concur and also believe that such talks should occur at a better time and place." A small amount of snuffling whines came from Barbro sitting next to the Ramposa's throne. "And what of Barbro?"
Yes, what of Barbro? He was already living out the rest of his life as a pig for his punishment. Perhaps I'll throw a bone to Ramposa and help further discussions between us. And besides, Barbro being seen by the people of the Re-Estize for the pig he is was really punishment enough.
"You may keep Barbro," I could see the relief in the eyes of the pig and king at this, but I soon added as reminder, "though he won't be changing back to a human." Barbro started to squeal until a harsh glare from me silenced him.
"What now? What do you plan to do?" Ramposa asked, receiving a smile from me in reply.
"I am going to continue the path I've already chosen; protecting and helping those who need it. One such way will be to end the wasteful war between you and the Baharuth." I let that sink into all the people in the room before I teleported away.
['Princess' Renner]
I would be the first to admit that I had not expected for my goddess to personally arrive in the throne room today. Nor did I predict that my moronic brother would be brought along, transformed into a pig. Seeing him whining and squealing, unable to get whatever he wanted, was both immensely satisfying and utterly hilarious.
It had actually taken a modicum of effort to keep my mask up and prevent myself from smiling, much less laughing, at the fate that befell Barbro. Tsunami was much the same as I was. Yet, despite this pleasant outcome, there had been a worrying snag in my plans.
Father having a heart attack upon witnessing Barbro had me rethinking plans and accelerating the timetable for them, or creating contingencies that wouldn't require Father. I've read enough medical journals written by healers to know that Father's time on the throne had just shrunk by a massive amount.
There have been healers that saved those amidst a heart attack, but that didn't fully fix the underlying issue. Father's age had finally caught up to him, the burden of rulership only hastening his downfall. He was liable to have another heart attack in the future, and he might not be as lucky to have someone to heal him close by as he was this time.
Aside from his bodily deterioration, Father had just demonstrated extreme weakness to the major players of the court. Like wolves, the nobles could smell the blood in the air and were starting to close in. Just today, the arguments over Father's capacity to lead were being thrown around.
If the members of the Royalty Faction had been staunch supporters of Father before, the events of today would likely have shaken them. Oh, they'll still be loyal to the Royal Family, but now, with Barbro essentially an invalid, they'd begin focusing on Zanac.
It would be simple things at first. They might ask Zanac's opinion on small things, like minor disputes. Then, it'd scale up to topics of a greater nature, so that they needn't trouble Father, of course. Eventually, it would move to policies until Zanac became king in all but name.
Finally, Father would be replaced and Zanac would take the throne.
I wasn't worried about Zanac sitting the throne as he would surrender it to me when asked. No, what slightly bothered me is that Father will lose authority like sand falling in an hourglass before I could fully use him.
And beyond even that, it would look better politically if Father is the one to hand me the crown instead of Zanac. Father, despite his flaws as a ruler, has been the king of the Re-Estize for decades. It adds a heavier weight to my legitimacy if Father abdicates to me instead of Zanac doing so.
I'll have to enact a two-pronged plan onto Father. Tsunami will perform some editing upon Father's memories as he sleeps. It won't be anything large, just the idea of making me queen. While awake, Zanac will be sent to converse with Father, throwing out the concept of naming me heir.
Thankfully, Kashia had been very helpful in pointing out my accomplishments to the entire court in a way that none of them could ignore or write off. With my plan to send food to every city in the Re-Estize, hastened to only a few days from now, that might be enough to fully sway Father without needing to completely brainwash him.
The readjustments of the primary plan were simple enough to not fail in all but the most extreme of circumstances. I could only see two setbacks that would have to be taken care of.
One of these setbacks is Barbro's supporters. With Barbro finished, all of them would attempt to rally behind another due to their dislike of Zanac. There were two primary candidates I could think of off the top of my head.
The first was Duke Antonio. He had many of the same characteristics of Barbro, from his headstrong demeanor, a certain charisma that came from boisterous strongmen, a mind ripe for manipulation, his consistent preferential treatment towards friends. The list could go on, but I saw him as a copy of Barbro if he didn't have a crown to his name.
As for the second candidate? It would be Marquis Boullope. He was a veteran commander, was part of the Six Great Nobles Faction and Nobility Faction, and most importantly, he was Barbro's father-in-law.
Depending on if his daughter, Deliah, was pregnant with Barbro's child, it would mean that Boullope had a legitimate heir tied directly to the Royal Family. He could easily gather a large following if that was the case, all for a prince who would be taught and influenced by them.
I would almost feel sorry for the child if they did exist.
Even if Deliah wasn't pregnant with Barbro's spawn, it wasn't hard to impregnate her with another's child and pass it off as Barbro's. That made Marquis Boullope the more dangerous of the pair. As long as Deliah lived, they'd have a month to make sure that she's pregnant with Barbro's child or make it believable with a donor's.
Already, I knew what to do. With Antonio, I believe that it would be fitting for Alfred, with all of the skills of his former profession, to give the duke a taste of the skills he originally purchased. It would need to be done in a way that seemed natural.
Following this, Marquis Blumrush, who would inherit all of the titles and lands that Antonio currently had, needed to be dealt with. Killing him right after Antonio's death would be too suspicious. But I didn't need him dead, just removed from play. I could have Tsunami utilize [Control Amnesia] to turn the man senile and render him an invalid. His heir, Ronaldo, while a member of the Nobility Faction, would be tied up in the legal process of transferring his father's titles and lands to himself.
That process would take longer than it would take me to ascend to the throne. By then I could deal with the man in one way or another.
As for Boullope and Deliah, that would be a tougher decision. I could have them killed by a fire burning down their estate, but that was too conspicuous. Really, the target that needed to be dealt with is Deliah. I needed to ensure that a child would never come from the woman.
Luckily, there were more than enough potions and poisons that could terminate a pregnancy.
After Kashia left the throne room, open debate erupted amongst the nobles and Father. "My Liege, what shall be done about this?" Marquis Raeven asked.
"Indeed, what will we do with everything that has been told to us? What will be done with Prince Barbro?" Margrave Urovana pondered. Father glanced over to Barbro with the indecisive gaze that I had seen him make many times when asked which of his sons should be made king.
"As of now, my son shall be confined to his room and mages of the Magician's Guild shall be sent for to see if there is anything that they can do to reverse this transformation." With a motion to the guards, two of them cautiously approached the trembling Barbro. At least my brother kept some of his almost nonexistent dignity by going with the guards peacefully.
"Now, I wish for everyone but my advisors to leave." With this, everyone, including Tsunami and I, exited the room, with the beginnings of gossip already echoing from the nobles as they did so.
When Tsunami and I left the throne room, I felt my mood quickly cheer at seeing the bright smile of my Climb as he stood next to Alfred. I would be the first to admit that Alfred had cleaned up well from when he was still an assassin for hire.
The long hair he once had was trimmed into something short and manageable, his rough beard now a groomed mustache. And then, there was his dark suit that gave him a more respectable appearance in the castle. Yet, that respectable appearance hid all the customizations made upon his suit.
Secret pockets throughout the outfit contained a multitude of blades and poisons that could be used at a moment's notice. A single flick of his wrist and Alfred would have a knife ejected from his sleeve and stabbed into a neck before one could blink.
Most amusingly is that Alfred could easily kill Father with barely any effort and a simple order from me. None of Father's guards would ever expect or be able to react to it.
"Climb, I hope that you and Alfred have been getting well with each other?" I already knew that my Climb and Alfred had a friendly relationship with each other, especially after a prior excursion the two took into the city where they met with a man who recognized Alfred from his prior life.
An out-of-work mercenary by the name of Brain Unglaus. The pair had done a few jobs together before parting ways. Yet, Alfred was able to deftly explain his new life and employment by turning over a new leaf.
After that, the group went their separate ways, but not before Alfred questioned the mercenary on his current residence, in case I might ever have the urge to hire the man. And hire him, I very much plan to.
Aside from once seeing him at the Grand Tournament, where he fought Gazef Stronoff in an extremely close battle, I had Alfred inform me about what he knew of the mercenary. And with everything Alfred told me, it made the idea of hiring him all the better.
Brain, from just a skim of what Alfred had told me, is an arrogant and prideful man driven by a perfectionist mindset that drives him to become the best. Enough of a drive that he is willing to be hired by anyone that could help him achieve his goal. But something seemed to have greatly affected him recently, enough to humble the man.
It would be simple enough to manipulate the man, prey upon the insecurities of strength that he has, and then provide him a potential path to grow stronger. Recruiting him to my service would reward me with someone of Gazef's skill level, yet no loyalty to Father or the kingdom, just to me.
While I could just ask my goddess for another servant of equal or greater power, there comes an advantage with enlisting the aid of actual humans instead of disguised kitsune. One major advantage would be the local knowledge and connections that humans of this Realm would have compared to kitsune. The other came from their silence.
Tsunami is special among her people. Like me, she has a willingness to do anything if it means the happiness and prosperity of her obsession, and that's in addition to her great intelligence. The rest of Kashia's servants were held back by simple morals or they would tell her of actions I made that might upset her morally, even though they were necessary.
No, Tsunami was a piece of gold among a mountain of silver, and I had no expectation of finding another like her. Especially not one that I could see as an intellectual equal.
"Absolutely, my Lady. Alfred's been nice to talk to." My Climb answered first, a voice filled with optimism and innocence that matched his eyes. Little did he know, and something that he would never fully find out, is that he was surrounded by three killers. My Climb utterly believes in the mummer's farce we put on for his benefit, and it excited me enough to make it harder to control myself.
I think that I may even decide to claim my Climb's body before my plan is complete.
Alfred gave a bow, "Yes, Madam. Sir Climb has been both pleasurable company and enlightening on the castle and its people." I adored the touch of pink coloring my Climb's cheeks at being referred to like a knight.
Putting on an excitable expression, I giddily clapped, before moving over to my Climb and embracing him. "I'm so happy that both of you are getting along!"
"By the way, my Lady, Alfred and I saw a pig being escorted from the throne room a few minutes prior. Is there any explanation for that?" My Climb asked me. Sadly, I forced myself to separate from my knight.
Looking around, this wouldn't be the best place to play the heartbroken princess. I was putting on a performance, and none of the nobles or guards around us were meant to be the intended audience.
"Please, follow me as this isn't the best place to speak of such things." I said, receiving nods from my three subordinates. It didn't take us long to reach my study and close the door behind us.
Then, I turned to look at my Climb and slowly changed my expression to remove some of the happiness. "When you asked about the pig being escorted from the throne room, it wasn't just a pig." I began, earning a surprised look from both my Climb and Alfred.
"What else besides a pig might it have been, Madam?" Alfred asked.
I made a few slightly choked breaths, as if I was holding myself back from sobbing. Much to my pleasure, my Climb's expression became distressed at my supposed emotional turmoil.
"I-It was Bar-Barbro. Astonishingly, the Fox Princess appeared in the throne room with Barbro and explained his connections to Eight Fingers alongside his-" I added some sorrow to my expression and caused a few tears to well in my eyes, "-attempted s-slaughter of innocent people, leading to h-his punishment of being t-trapped in the form of a pig. I-I could never believe that he might do either of those things, but I find it hard to think otherwise due to all of the other accusations being proven true."
I internally smirked as my acting provoked my Climb to comfort me with an embrace before he softly said in my ear, "I'm so sorry that another betrayal was found within your family. I don't know if this will be much of a consolation in the wake of these events, but know that I will always loyally protect and serve you in whatever way I can."
Yes, words of comfort like this, brought on by a heightened emotional response, meant that my Climb was in a state where he has mentally let his guard down between the separation of his feelings for me and his honorable sense of duty to protect me as my guardian. That would make him much more susceptible to words supposedly said in the moment.
It might be a little earlier than planned, but a chance like this was just falling into my lap. And besides, I needed to break down his inhibitions to love and worship me as I truly desired.
"I know," I whispered back to him with a perfect measure of want and warmth, "and it's why you will always have my heart."
Upon saying those words, I received the reaction I both wanted and predicted. There was his gasp of shock, followed by the slightly tighter grip of his embrace as his instinctual urge to hold and protect me took over. I would have only a few moments to bask in this uncontrolled side of my Climb before he came back to his senses.
His sense of duty would immediately make him attempt to resist the idea, but that was something easily quelled. "Princess Ren-" My finger went to his lips, silencing him.
I met his gaze with an expression that was a muted version of what I was truly feeling right now. I placed my Climb's hand over my heart, yet close enough to my breast to be noticeable to him. He'd certainly see it as symbolic, but it was also an additional action to manipulate the primal part of his mind and break down the hesitant barriers holding him back.
"Climb, please, this is my heart laid bare to you. Since the day our eyes first met, I may have not known it at the time, but you stole my heart before any other could." I watched my Climb's eyes widen in shock as his pupils shrank, and that was the moment I captured his lips with my own.
My Climb was frozen for a single moment, then he leaned in and I knew that I had won and staked my first claim upon him. After a good 30 seconds, which felt too short for me, I forced myself to separate my lips from my Climb and took on a breathy voice that contained just enough innocence to maintain the continued illusion of the Golden Princess, "And I've known for a long time that you've felt the same for me."
"Y-You did?!" I gave a nod, internally laughing at how oblivious my Climb was all this time. "But what about your station?" My Climb then looked away from me with an expression of shame, "You're a princess, Renner. I'm just the peasant that guards you."
Oh, how humble my Climb is. "No," I said, cupping both sides of his face to look at me. "You are the boy I love, and that transcends paltry titles." Yes, you are beyond a paltry peasant. You are my Climb, my knight, my pet.
"A-And you are the girl that acted as my light in the darkness. You saved me, you saved so many others in the kingdom, and you still keep trying to give to those in need. It's what I love most about you, and it's one of the many things about you that made me fall in love with you, Renner." I was happy to see Climb take the initiative when he moved in to kiss me.
When we finally separated, I found myself annoyed that I had to hold back my excitement to maintain that mask of the Golden Princess. "Renner, what will we do? We love each other, but your father and the other nobles will never accept us being together."
"Climb, with love, there will always be a way." Internally, my eyes were rolling at how childish and naïve that sounded. But it was something that the Golden Princess would say, and it was something that would touch my Climb's heart. I could already feel that Tsunami wanted to burst out laughing at how much of a fool I appeared right now. "We will be together. Do you believe me?"
"I believe you with all my heart."
With my Climb fully bound to me, at least in spirit as I hadn't yet taken the rest of body just yet, I continued the farce and looked to Alfred and Tsunami while holding my Climb's hands in my own. "Please, Tsunami and Alfred, keep what you have seen to yourselves. If any other were to learn of our love, I fear that we would be separated." I made myself sound desperate, even though I knew that both of my servants wouldn't say a word.
Alfred gave a bow, "Of course, Madam. I serve you, and none will hear of your bond with each other."
Tsunami followed this with a curtesy. "You are my mistress, and I am your loyal maid. My lips are sealed."
"Thank you."
It was after the romantic confessions with my Climb that we needed to break apart and continue enacting my plans, not that my Climb was aware of it. All he knew is that my charity works needed an important letter delivered, and I was entrusting this important document to him. Actually, it was little more than a monetary transfer from my smithy business to the charity that could've been performed by a simple courier.
I just needed a moment to speak privately with Alfred and Tsunami to set up my plans with my Climb out of earshot.
"Alfred, I have need of you." I commanded.
Alfred bowed before me, "Madam, how might I be able to assist you?"
The ghost of a smile crossed my lips as he said this. "My dear butler, I have need of your more unique talents for a set of jobs that need to be accomplished." I answered before adding, "Such tasks will have to be done with extreme discretion involved."
My butler gave a nod of understanding, "I see. And will these tasks require a natural appearance or something more malicious in mind?"
"As natural as possible. It appears that, after Father had a dreadful heart attack in the throne room today, Duke Antonio appeared to have a heavy heart himself, soon after. And, with the tragic state of my brother, Barbro, I worry greatly for his wife. Such stress could cause irreparable harm to any potential pregnancy she might have, known or not."
"Understood, Madam. Tragic events can befall anyone at the most inopportune times." My smile widened and I nodded at this.
"Indeed, they can. You may go." I finished, receiving one final bow before Alfred quickly made his way out of my study to begin his work. Tsunami and I were the only ones remaining in the room.
The pink-haired kitsune let her illusion fall away to reveal her bestial traits. Then, she gave me an amused smirk. "Working fast, aren't we?"
"No way to avoid it. Father's weakness has hastened the timeframe." I found myself giggling at this point, "And all of it is due to a single pig!"
Tsunami giggled as well, "Yes, such a fitting look for a man like him. Though, if it wouldn't draw suspicion or my Kashia's disappointment, I'd be turning the swine into bacon by now. Shame."
She then took a seat on the edge of my desk and met my gaze with a dangerous pair of red eyes, "But there are the two other points of interest that we'll have to take care of with greater haste than before."
"Yes," I said with a nod. "With our goddess' physical appearance at court, the church will be unable to ignore this threat to their power any longer. Do we have any developments on the High Priests?"
"The editing of them has had mixed results. Some are taking to the changes a lot faster than the others. But most pleasingly has been Jonah Carpashin." My head tilted in interest, especially when I noticed how Tsunami's tails curled in the what I knew to be her feeling extreme satisfaction.
"Go on."
"It appears that he has been taking to his drink with more gusto than we could have ever predicted. Seems that he only needed the little push to get him started." I smiled at this news.
"What of the others?" I asked.
"Haldur has slightly resisted his growing gluttony, though I noticed him sneaking extra morsels of food for himself. Nolan couldn't resist his urges to visit the whorehouse. Oscar is noticeably wearing more gold on himself. Finally, Isaac has been a lot more violent in what he says at his sermons."
"Good to hear. Ramp up the changes so that they are too busy dealing with their own internal issues to focus on our goddess."
Getting off my desk and stretching her hands over her head, Tsunami looked over her shoulder at me with a wink. "With pleasure, mistress!"
[Arlan]
"Guildmaster Arlan, I have important news for you!" Neville Veillus, one of the mages who had been sent to investigate the pillar of golden mana by the King, said to me as he quickly entered my office. I had, at the moment, been going over the tome that had been collected from the infected E-Rantel mages before he had entered. The more I read the tome, the more I became impressed at the ideas within it that I had never even considered before in spellcraft. Even if the tome in its entirety was dangerous, I believe that certain sections of knowledge within were safe enough to be spread among the mages within the guild.
Yet, this sudden interruption was highly unusual to me. In fact, I was incredibly surprised at how quickly Neville had returned as, even with the flying carpet magic item that he and his fellows had been allowed to use, it would have taken days longer.
Setting the tome into a locked and warded drawer of my desk, I looked to the younger dark-haired man. It took me only a few moments to find my eyes drawn to the object within his hands. Namely, the white, leatherbound tome in his hand that was too similar in design to the Tome of [Greater Slow] to be a coincidence.
"What is it that you have in your hands?" I found myself suddenly asking.
A grin filled Neville's face before he answered, "Well, sir, that's part of why I came to report to you straight away. When you sent my fellows and I to accompany Sir Gazef to the pillar, we ended up encountering that goddess that is being talked about, the Fox Princess. And through this encounter, she gave this tome for the [Haste] spell."
Neville handed me the tome, and I quickly took it from his hands before opening it and skimming through the pages. Just like the other tome, the instructions within these pages were far beyond anything that has ever been taught before!
Shutting the book, I looked up to Neville and asked, "What else? Did she do anything else or give you something other than this tome?" I may have asked the question in a slightly rash manner, but I had to know if Neville let himself and the other become infected.
To my relief, Neville shook his head. "No, sir. The tome was the only thing that she gave my party. But that isn't the only thing she had done. See, Prince Barbro, days earlier, had decided to attack her and an entire settlement of people that were worshipping her."
The instant Neville said this, my heart seemed to sink. The Fox Princess has already expanded her infection to the beginnings of a settlement. I can already see the possible future where she would send her infected out to the other cities from this breeding ground. Unlike E-Rantel, most likely everyone living in this settlement would be one of the infected.
"What happened to Prince Barbro?"
"To summarize, part of the army of the Prince's was annihilated by her. Afterwards, she informed everyone of Prince Barbro's ties to Eight Fingers and turned him into a pig. When we encountered her today, she created a portal to the throne room in the capital to show the King of what happened to his son. My colleagues and I followed her through this portal, which is how we arrived here."
Neville seemed to get a wry look upon his face, "Additionally, the King ended up having a heart attack during this meeting, only surviving due to the timely aid of the Fox Princess healing him. After this, she announced that she would prevent the war between the Baharuth and Re-Estize from happening."
By the gods. I have a horrid feeling that the King suffering such a deadly event was all according to this woman's plan. If I had to guess, it was to allow her the chance to get close enough to the King to put some form of enchantment upon Ramposa disguised as her healing him. He would need to be inspected to discover any obvious magics upon him, but it would have to be done discreetly so that he didn't suspect.
King Ramposa could very well be a puppet to her. Until it was discovered otherwise, plans would have to be put in place to remove Ramposa from power. In fact, thinking about it; Neville, Hawthorn, and Derek would need to be isolated and inspected for possible enchantments placed upon them. For all I know, Neville could be a puppet telling lies, especially when he and the others physically met with her.
"I see." I answered before standing up from my chair. If I am to speak any further with Neville, it's best to have him inspected. "Neville, would you be willing to come with me to talk further?"
Eagerly, Neville nodded his head. "Certainly, sir." I walked past my desk and Neville before opening the door and motioning him through. He quickly exited and I went with him and locked the door behind me.
It would be best to walk him to the examination chamber and cast [Forced Sleep] upon him there. That would create less chaos, and a lot less work to move him.
[Lukrut]
"You gave King Ramposa a heart attack?!" I found myself asking Kashia in disbelief. Both of us were sitting at a table in one of the palace studies with windows overlooking the lake. We were having a simple lunch together, when Kashia brought up what she had done earlier today.
"I made sure to heal him. He's still alive and kicking after all of that." Kashia replied quickly in assurance.
"At least tell me that you haven't started any blood feuds or something that royalty likes to do?" I got a raised brow from Kashia for that question.
Crossing her arms under her chest and cocking her head slightly, Kashia gave me a coy look. "You know, I am royalty as well. I don't exactly have much of an urge to start blood feuds."
That brought out a chuckle from me. "Of course. How could I ever forget, your Highness?" I gave an exaggerated bow from my chair, getting a laugh, followed by a playful shove from Kashia.
"Don't start that Highness shit with me. I already hear enough of it from everyone else." Kashia warned, but the grin on her face nullified any weight that it had.
"I'll hold off for now, my beautiful fox, at least until it becomes amusing to me." I added, getting a roll of her golden eyes. "So, what happened after that?"
Kashia finished eating the rest of her salmon sandwich and rested her chin in her hands before answering, "Fixed the King, had to listen to nobles argue for a bit longer, and decided to leave Barbro to whatever tender mercies his father had for him. Then, I left."
"That's three of the Royal Family who you've done something to, even if King Ramposa wasn't from your direct actions to him. You planning to go after any more of them, 'cause it looks like you're making it a habit?" I questioned, not expecting to see a guilty look in her eyes as she looked away.
"Kashia, what did you do?"
My golden fox gave a wry grin as her ears slightly flattened to the sides of her head, "I may have spoken with Princess Renner. And she may have decided to join my religion as one of my Maidens. And following that, I might be helping her attain the throne."
I found myself sighing. Really, I should stop being surprised at a lot of what Kashia ends up doing, and yet, here we are. "What made you want to recruit the Golden Princess and make her queen?"
"A few things. Renner cares about the people of the kingdom, has taken many steps to deal with Eight Fingers, could fix many of the issues plaguing the Re-Estize if she had the resources, and she's frighteningly smart."
"Frighteningly smart?"
Kashia nodded. "Upon being given my help, she's already come up with plans that will put her on the throne within months, possibly sooner. And this is with only minor assistance from my end. If she had been born a boy, Renner would likely already be ruling the kingdom by now."
Huh, interesting to consider. Honestly, I never would've picked out Renner as being intelligent, at least from what I've heard. Guess the Princess has been keeping that a secret to seem less threatening. Then again, considering how her charities have done much to help the people of the kingdom, I wasn't opposed to her sitting the throne.
Probably would be better than the multiple rulers we've had before.
"At least someone has a plan in all of your shenanigans." I teased.
Kashia gave a gasp while placing a hand over her heart, "You assume that I have no plan?!"
Narrowing my eyes and smiling, I leaned towards her. "Do you?"
"I definitely have a plan. But," Kashia then leaned closer to me, "I think I'll keep it as a surprise for you to find out."
"Oh," I smirked and leaned a little closer, "and is there any part of this amazing plan that you can let me in on right now?" Our foreheads were almost touching by now.
Kashia's eye looked up in the air, as if in thought, then she focused her gaze upon me again, "I'll only say that you'll like it." I rolled my eyes at her answer.
"Fine, I'll let you keep your secret. But Kashia," I said with a bit more concern in my voice, "try to be careful."
"I'll try, Lucky." She replied with a kiss before we separated. Quickly changing subjects, Kashia then decided to ask, "By the way, how's your time training with Saizo been going?"
"Pretty well. Gotta hand it to the guy, he has really been making me work." I said with a bit of an uncontrolled groan while rubbing the back of my neck.
[Days Earlier]
"Okay, Lukrut," Saizo interrupted as I shot a root arrow at the target ahead of me. I was able to control the arrow to spear through the target instead of exploding, but I was wondering if I might be able to manipulate the roots to disable a target instead of maim. A lot easier said than done, but it would be useful method to learn control, especially since I had worries of accidental friendly-fire.
"Since we both know that you're a pretty good archer, I think that you should start working on close-quarters combat since not every fight will be possible with a bow and arrow. From what I hear, you are in need of it." As Saizo finished, I shot one final arrow at the target and turned to him.
Slinging my bow over my shoulder, I asked, "Not that I'm against it, but what would you recommend? My only other combat skills are being decidedly average with a dagger, and I haven't been able to get much in the way of training that with my teammates."
Saizo chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. "You're in luck. I happen to be quite the close-quarters combat specialist. Up to try?" I nodded in reply. "Good to hear! Go set your bow aside and we'll get to work."
It didn't take long for me to set aside my bow and quiver before I rejoined Saizo in the middle of the training room. "First things first, I'd like to get a feel for how you fight." He then gave a 'come hither' motion with his hands to me, "Come try and hit me."
I was about to unsheathe my daggers from my hip when Saizo shook his head, eliciting a look of confusion from me. "Without my daggers?" I questioned.
"You won't need them right now. I want to see what just you without a weapon can do. Now, come, I won't attempt to hit you."
My brow slightly raised as I felt that there was something more to this that Saizo wasn't telling me, but I shrugged the thought off and rushed the kitsune with a swing of my right hand at his head.
Instead of hitting him, Saizo lightly shifted his head to the left, narrowly avoiding my fist with a smile. My knee rose up, and Saizo's left hand quickly went down to block it. What I didn't expect was for the kitsune to grip my leg and toss me behind himself!
…I may have screamed when he did that and I ended up bouncing on the floor before rolling myself back on my feet. "The hell was that?! You said you weren't going to hit me!"
"I didn't hit you." Saizo said with a large grin, "I simply used your momentum to throw you. Try to keep in mind that I won't hit you, but I will use your attacks against you. Also, as a handicap, I won't be using my tails."
My eyes narrowed in a mixture of annoyance and slight frustration that Saizo was completely beyond me. The kitsune had centuries of combat experience on me, while I had little over a decade, most of it being with a bow.
"Fine." I said and swiftly charged the gray-haired man, swinging my left fist at his head. This time, he leaned aside and grabbed my outstretched hand before spinning around and letting go. My charge caused me to stumble past Saizo and almost lose my footing until I caught myself.
"Try to avoid leaving yourself open with wide swings like that." Saizo said as I turned to look at him. He seemed to take a fighting stance with his fist in front of his body. With inhuman speed that I would call a blur, he gave a few short jabs before his fists returned to that same stance.
"You want to make short jabs against an enemy who is prepared for your swings. Take testing hits to judge their reaction time and speed. Come on." He motioned to my fists and took that same stance.
Slowly, I matched the stance that Saizo held until the kitsune nodded in satisfaction and motioned for me to approach him. I answered the challenge and moved towards him. I took a short jab with my right fist, eliciting a dodge from the kitsune, jabbed with my left that was blocked with his forearm, and followed it up with a jab of my right at his head once again.
Saizo leaned his head out of the way with a satisfied smirk. "Doing better. We just have to-" The grinning little bastard hooked his foot on the back of my right heel before giving a little pull, knocking me off balance. Saizo then gave a small shove with his shoulder, knocking me down. "-work on your footwork a bit."
He leaned down and held his hand out to me which I took. Then, he pulled me back onto my feet. "I can tell that I'm going to hate this, aren't I?" I asked sardonically.
The gray-haired kitsune cheerfully clapped me on the shoulder. "Just depends on your perspective. You can look at this as self-improvement or you can see this as an ass-kicking. It's up to you."
That earned a roll of my eyes as I put my fists up in a stance before me. "Ready?" Saizo chuckled as he backed away and nodded.
Kashia gave me a concerned look while cupping my cheek as two of her tails gently wrapped around my leg. "Is everything alright? I hope that Saizo hasn't been overdoing training with you."
I took her hand with my own and smiled. "You don't need to worry, my beautiful fox. Saizo hasn't been that excessive in my training. I can call it off whenever I want to, so it's under control."
"I certainly hope so. I might be able to heal a lot of injuries, up to death at a point, but it wouldn't make me happy if I had to do so constantly." Kashia teased while entwining her fingers into mine.
"Then I promise to do my best to avoid things coming to that." My thoughts went to the dreams that I've been having. Ones where I'd watch Kashia suffer in one way or another, unable to save her regardless of what I did.
Of being reminded by that corrupted duplicate of mine of my weakness. In a way, it helped act as a way to motivate my drive to grow stronger. I just wanted to be better for her.
And I wanted to prove that false version of me wrong! I wasn't a failure, and I wouldn't get her killed like…mother.
It appeared that something about these dark thoughts had shown on my face as Kashia gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Thinking about something?"
"Just about you." I kissed her, hearing a muffled laughter as she leaned into it.
[Ninya]
After the meeting with Urzra and Genshiro, Nero, Oletta, and I bid the pair farewell before leaving the greenhouse and continuing out walk throughout the village. All the while, I was asked more questions by an excited Oletta. She had seemed to barely contain her curiosity within the greenhouse when in the presence of her grandfather, but outside of it?
She was a chatterbox.
"Ninya, how did you become an adventurer? What was the first job that you ever did? How did you end up learning magic before meeting all of the foxes?" It was hard to hide the amused smile that was growing on my lips as Nero looked over to us with a snort.
Meeting the younger girl's gaze, I decided to humor her, "To answer, I guess we should start with how I learned magic. When I was younger, around your age, maybe a bit younger, I learned of my innate Talent of learning magic faster than others by watching a traveling mage perform some simple spells for entertaining the villagers. From there, I eventually managed to acquire an extremely basic book of spells that might normally take a year or more to learn the contents of." A prideful grin spread on my face, "I learned it within four months."
That got an impressed 'ooh' from Oletta, making me giggle. "Following this, I eventually went to the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel and registered." I intentionally left out the section of my life where I only went to the guild because my parents were dead and Tuare had been taking away to be a slave. "After that, my first job ended up with me going into the cemetery of E-Rantel with two other newer members of the guild to kill a few undead."
"Was it scary?"
I gave Oletta a shrug. "At first, yeah. But after a few years, and many different jobs later, going through the cemetery to put down a few undead is relatively mundane and boring in comparison to everything else. Not that I would recommend you to do so yourself." I quickly added, "After all, I've become strong enough that a simple skeleton or two is practically nothing to a simple fire spell. You would need a bit of experience under your belt before you tried."
Following this, I ruffled the girl's hair. "I doubt that I'd ever want to fight nasty undead when I get older. You don't need to worry about that." Oletta replied, receiving a raised brow from me.
"That's what I thought when I was younger." I mused while nostalgically thinking about my original wish to become a powerful mage that would go on multiple magical adventures. I could say that I was living part of that childish dream right now, just not in the way that I could have ever expected.
Nero started laughing, earning interested looks from Oletta and I. "She's not wrong. Anything could change beyond the expectations of when you were younger." Nero explained.
Oletta simply gave a stubborn 'hmph!' as she crossed her arms. "Still won't ever see me getting near some nasty undead for anything I do in the future." Nero and I had amused smirks on our faces at how assured the younger girl was of her future.
As we walked further around Elwuld, the three of us looked at all the constant work that happened around us. There was construction of new homes being done by the combined efforts of humans and kitsune. Some kitsune would carry wood into the village in their fox forms where workers would immediately go to work chopping and sawing it into usable materials.
Other kitsune would work on structures with clever applications of magic. Most of that work went into creating comfortable burrows to reside in, though a few kitsune would work on structures above ground.
"From what it looks like, your village seems to be recovering even better than you mentioned." I remarked to Nero as we passed by a carpenter sawing a length of wood with the help of a kitsune.
"Yeah, it really is. Just wish that we didn't need to recover in the first place." Nero said with a slightly mournful tone. That was when Oletta took Nero's hand and beamed him an optimistic smile.
"But Mr. Genshiro says that the fox people want to help make the village better than it was before. That has to count for something, right?"
Just a few words from Oletta were enough to raise Nero's spirits and remove the dour look he had. "It does, little sister. It counts for a lot." Nero agreed while patting the younger girl's head.
I found the entire scene to be a mixture of heartwarming and adorable. Unfortunately, it didn't last long as a voice called out from behind us. "Hey, Neer!" This immediately got the young paladin to perk up and turn around.
My gaze followed Nero's to see another boy our age jog up to us with a grin on his face. The boy was just a little taller than Nero, wearing brown trousers, dirt-covered leather shoes from working out in the fields, and a gray shirt. He had average enough features, though oddly, parts of his dark hair were fully streaked in white.
"Hey, Cai!" Nero greeted back. "Good to see you. Were you given a break from tending the crops?" The boy gave a nod.
"Not much left to do in the way of crops except harvest the ones that have finished growing. Winter is almost here, making planting anything else a waste. Genshiro is probably one of the few that will be doing much work in the coming months due to his greenhouse, while the other farmers are only just getting started building 'em."
That got a nod from Nero. "Seems that you're going to have a relatively boring time ahead of yourself with nothing to do." Cai then gave a reluctant grin, "Are you?"
"I'll probably be put on the duty of collecting firewood soon enough. Never enjoyed having to chop down trees and turn them into logs, but what can you do?" Cai replied and asked, "So, Mr. Magical Fox Paladin, you're back earlier than expected. Any reason for that?"
"Got a break from training today, so I was given the chance to come back to the village for a bit before I leave a bit later in the day. Also, I wanted to show Ninya my home." Nero then looked to me and said, "Ninya, this is my best friend C-"
That was when Cai quickly interrupted the blond boy and, if I didn't know any better, appeared to teleport in front of me, "My name's Caius Belgins. And might I say that it's an honor for such a pretty girl like yourself to want to visit Elwuld."
It felt like my face had become hot enough to cook upon as Caius looked at me with a smile. From the corner of my eye, I could see Nero smack his palm into his face with a groan.
Focusing my attention back upon Caius, I tried to give him a friendly smile even if internally I was almost frozen in what to do. I had no experience with boys interacting with me with expressed interest. I found myself wishing that Tuare or mom were here- actually, if they were here, both would probably be enthusiastically pushing me to flirt with him.
Never mind.
"H-Hello, Caius. I-It's nice to m-meet you." I finally managed to choke out.
"You can just call me Cai. It's something I let people I like refer to me by." Caius added with a wink while Nero buried his face in his hands, completely mortified. "Mind telling me how my good friend Nero met a pretty girl like you?"
"I- We met at Tob- the Great L-Lake, and not the f-forest, b-because the k-kitsune are teaching m-me magic as well."
Caius' brows rose in interest as he drew slightly closer. "Oh, a pretty mage, huh? Are you single?"
At that point, my mind just shut down and words just jumbled out of my mouth, "Uh- Singl- no, uh, I mean- yes! Single, I am, yes." By now, I was hoping for some kind of miracle to get me out of this awkwardness.
Thankfully, help came in the form of Nero, who quickly put an end to this embarrassing situation. "Okay, Cai, I think you're going overboard." Nero said as he got between Caius and I and flicked him in the forehead hard enough to cause the other boy to whine and rub his forehead.
After this, Nero turned to me with an apologetic grin, "Sorry about Cai. He can be an idiot around girls."
"Not true!" Caius interjected. "It's called being charming!" Nero rolled his eyes and this and met my gaze with a resigned look.
"Yeah." Nero then muttered under his breath, "More like being a charming idiot." I gave a small smirk at this as the blond boy looked back to his friend, "Try to not embarrass me around my friend, Cai."
"Like you need any help, Neer." Caius teased before oddly looked between us and grinning. "Though, I think I see what's going on. As I good friend, I'll back off for a bit. But try not to take too long, or I'll swoop in, buddy."
"What?" Nero and I said simultaneously. Both of us looked to one another, unable to find any understanding of what Caius said before he gave a laugh and ran off with a wave.
I was the first to find my voice among the pair of us. "Do you have any idea on what Caius was talking about?"
That received a shake of Nero's head. "Not a single clue. Just treat it as Cai being an idiot or that he's plotting some prank."
Oletta decided to finally make her presence known with a giggle. "Caius can be funny and weird at times."
"That he might be, but he's a good friend who's been there through thick and thin." Nero said with a smile as his eyes seemed to be filled with a fond nostalgia.
"It's good to hear that you have someone looking out for you… Even if Caius did manage to fluster me." I remarked.
"Oh, most definitely." Worryingly, Nero's smile quickly turned into something that was mischievous. "No doubt that your mom and sister would absolutely love to hear about how much you resembled a tomato today."
My eyes widened, "You wouldn't dare." Nero quickly took off with a laugh. "Get back here!" I shouted and chased after him, making it a few feet before I tripped and fell over, with my hidden tail rushing to absorb some of the impact as I hit the ground.
"…Damnit."
[The Sarbatons]
In the chapel of the Magician's Guild, the worshippers were beginning to disperse after Maya had given her sermon. These worshippers would soon disperse, some to other sections of the guild to perform research and study, others would head out the doors and back to their homes spread out across E-Rantel.
Of these people, were a couple in simple brown robes. Not much could be said about them, appearance wise. By all standards, they were extremely mundane. Both had plain brunette hair, dark-brown eyes, and features that would make them blend into a crowd, rather than stand out.
From what those at the guild had found out, the pair were a lovely couple that had been traveling mages until they heard rumor of a goddess of magic in E-Rantel. They quickly made the journey to investigate. And upon arriving and being shown the evidence of the goddess, the Sarbatons quickly converted to the religion before consuming the Fox Princess' blood.
Since then, the pair had shown up to every sermon since in utter devotion.
Yet, piety aside, the Sarbatons had other skills of note. Both were skilled battle mages, with Stefon commanding a wide range of evocation spells while Layla was skilled at numerous enhancement spells.
Humorously, whereas Stefon was powerful at long-range combat, Layla was deadly at short-range. This was clearly displayed when, with one of the enhancements she buffed herself with, Layla had snapped a training dummy in half with pure strength.
There were certainly a few suspicions about the couple, at first. Some thought the pair to either be Baharuth spies or former mages of the Empire that had deserted. Yet, said suspicions seemed to die down upon their induction into the Order.
As the pair walked away to their residence, Layla covertly put her hand to an amulet hidden under her robes as the effects of an enchantment filled her mind with information. Upon its conclusion, Layla brushed back her hair with two of her fingers.
"My love, shall we get something to eat?" Stefon asked softly, receiving a nod from Layla. "By the way, think that we'll ever deal with the mice scurrying in our room?"
Layla seemed to consider it before replying, "You can't just blast them with magic, if that's what you're asking. Our landlord would be quite cross. At best, we'll need to bait them with cheese before catching them."
"Shame." Stefon remarked as his eyes slowly glanced from one side of the street to the other, as if looking for an establishment to eat at. They walked further down the street together until Layla took Stefon by the hand and pulled him into an alley before passionately kissing him.
Stefon reciprocated by deepening the kiss and pushing her to the wall as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Stefon seemed to reach for her chest, with his hand brushing against her amulet under her robe. Layla's fingers tapped Stefon on the shoulder once, and the pair continued their passionate display until Layla squeezed her partner's shoulder once.
The pair slowly separated themselves before exiting the alley and making their way through the tangle of streets until they reached a simple tavern that seemed to have a bit of a stench to it, almost like a mixture of old ale and garlic, which they ducked into. It wasn't long before the pair ordered bowls of stew which they took to a table in one of the tavern's corners.
They began to eat, making idle chat about the day until a man entered the tavern and began looking around until his eyes fell upon them. The man had an appearance of a traveling trader, covered in travel-worn clothing and mud-stained boots. He walked over and took a seat by the couple.
"Quite the place you two chose. Bit of a smell to it, don'cha think?" The trader questioned.
"That's the point, Raffein. Foxes don't like the smell." Layla countered. A snort came from Raffein before he got the tavern's serving wench to give him some ale. Upon taking a sip, he set the mug down and looked between the pair.
"True enough. Now, your message said you've acquired something?" Raffein questioned.
Stefon reached into his robe and pulled out a pouch filled with herbs that emitted a stench. "Liquid gold. Took days to get it when the priestess wasn't looking. Apparently, they can see mana or something similar related to their goddess, making it all the harder to sneak out."
"By the way, it's highly magical, so it's likely to trigger any of the spells that the inspection mages have at the gates. You'll have to figure a way to get it out." Layla added, getting a challenging smirk from Raffein.
"Do you doubt my ability as a smuggler? Our Lord chose me for my useful skills, so try not to patronize me with such warnings." Raffein retorted before taking a quick glance inside of the pouch where a light gold shine reflected in his eyes. Then, he tied the strings of the pouch together once more and stored it inside his cloak.
"Golden blood from the golden cunt herself. Did you at least get to see her after spending all that time in the guild?" Raffein asked.
The couple shook their heads. "The most we've seen of her is the recent statue decorating the guild hall. Other than that, she hasn't appeared physically as she had weeks prior." Stefon replied as he took a bite of his stew.
"Unfortunate. Our Lord likely would've liked to know about that. Oh, well." Raffein gulped down another swig of his ale. "Have you discovered anything of interest?"
Layla thumbed her spoon for a moment before replying, "Foxes are all over the city now. Either hiding in the area or disguised as humans in plain sight. I fear that all of E-Rantel, perhaps even other cities of this kingdom, are under Blanc's control, even if it's not fully obvious."
"Worrying, that. But there's not much we can do besides wait for our Lord's decision." Raffein commented with a frown. "You two still planning to continue acting the devout faithful?"
The couple nodded. "We have been making good progress with the Order, and our Lord wishes to know everything that can be uncovered." Stefon answered, "Even beyond that, since consuming Blanc's blood, we have found our mana and spells empowered. If we uncover more on why this phenomenon occurs, and how it could be replicated or even subsumed from Blanc, then our Lord will be greatly pleased."
Layla then pulled out a small roll of papers which she handed to the trader. "These are all the reports we currently have on what we've discovered." Raffein quickly took the papers and stored them away with a toothy grin, showing a few of his teeth that were missing in his mouth.
"Thank you, kindly. I'll be sure to get these to our Lord with haste." Raffein took a final swig of his ale and slammed the mug to the table with a finality. "Same time here next week?"
"As for now; yes." Layla replied. "We'll send warning if something has changed before then." Raffein gave a final nod and stood up from the table of his co-conspirators. Then, he left the tavern, alongside the couple, to finish their meal.