A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 55: Gifts of Many Kinds
[Fluder Paradyne]
The golden light finally faded away and revealed a bestial woman in white that I inherently knew was the goddess I had been searching for. Instantly, I activated my Talent and almost vomited if not for my mental fortitude. Just as swiftly I deactivated it and let what I saw process through my mind. What I saw was beautiful beyond words.
Golden mana that was all-encompassing. It engulfed the entire tent, and possibly even further if I hadn't been near the origin of it. It was like a sun, filled with so much power and life that I had never dreamed possible. This was what I had been searching for my entire life, even if I hadn't expected it to be from a singular being.
This woman, the Fox Princess, was almost like the physical representation of magic made manifest. Utterly beautiful, powerful without equal, and beyond any form of mortal comprehension. And she had come to me specifically.
I may have almost remained struck dumb at the sight of the goddess until my eyes picked up Leinas moving with a spear aimed at the Fox Princess' heart. "Leinas! NO!" I shouted, my hand outstretched and on the cusp of releasing a bolt of magic at her to protect the goddess!
But I came to realize that my assistance wasn't necessary as the Fox Princess' tails darted out and wrapped around the shaft of the spear, stopping it in place. Leinas was momentarily surprised at the ease with which her attack was blocked, then she realized what I said and looked to me. "Lord Fluder, what is the meaning of this?"
"She is the Fox Princess." I explained before looking back to the goddess. "You have my humblest apologies, my Lady. Please, forgive Leinas as she was merely performing her duty to protect me."
Standing up from my chair, I walked around the small table I had been working at until I finally stood before the goddess. Then, I gave her a humble bow. I found myself praying that Leinas' attempt to protect me hadn't angered the goddess.
What surprised me was when I felt a gentle hand upon my shoulder, giving me the urge to look up and find the goddess smiling behind her veil. Her glowing eyes held none of the anger or disappointment that I had almost expected. In fact, her golden gaze held more amusement than anything else.
"You have no need to be sorry, Fluder. If anything, I should be the one to apologize for suddenly arriving before you without warning. If what I remember about you is correct, you're a man of high import in the Empire, so you'd likely have to be on guard for any assassination attempts." The Fox Princess said this with great warmth in her voice, and I felt both my anxiety and stress fade away.
"Thank you for your merciful kindness, my Lady." I said appreciatively with another bow. At the same time, the Fox Princess' tails finally let go of Leinas' spear and the knight gave a bow of apology herself.
"I'm quite impressed at your guardian's ability and speed to react to such an event, especially," She gave a sniff of the air and looked over to the knight. "Considering the extremely infected injury I can smell coming off of her."
Leinas' visible eye widened in surprise as, almost unconsciously, one of her hands went to touch the cursed side of her face. "It's not truly an injury, my Lady. It's a curse." This received an interested look from the goddess as she stepped closer to Leinas.
"Might I see it?" The question put Leinas off-guard as an embarrassed blush appeared upon her face. "Don't worry, I won't laugh or be repulsed. I promise." The Fox Princess kindly reassured her.
From what I knew of Leinas' history, she had once been part of a noble family until her disfigurement happened. It led to her family disowning her and her fiancé's abandonment. Hearing anyone, especially ones of high status, actually wish to look upon her disfigurement without any form of ill intent was extremely rare for the girl. Even with her status as one of the Four Imperial Knights, insulting talk of her still swirled around the court.
"But it's quite unsettling." Leinas replied quietly, looking to the ground in shame. The Fox Princess put one hand onto Leinas' shoulder and the other under her chin, gently lifting the girl's head up to meet her gaze.
"Trust in me. I'm not going to hurt you." It was this final reassurance that got Leinas to nod before she reached up with her hand and brushed aside the curtain of bangs that obscured her disfigurement.
Just like the last time I had looked upon it, her curse still remained as ghastly as it was before. Her skin on the right side of her face looked mottled and gray, as if in a rotting state.
Numerous open sores dotted her face, weeping yellow pus with the consistency of mucus. Aside from just the sores, more of that pus was wept from her right eye that was bloodshot and yellowed.
Some strands of Leinas' blonde hair remained pasted to her face because of the pus. This only enhanced the disgusting nature of her disfigurement, appearing more like slimy yellow worms.
"Quite a terrible curse, I see. What have you tried to cure it?" The Fox Princess asked calmly, not a single waver in her voice or hint of disgust.
"Everything I could try myself. Lord Fluder has been working on it as well, yet he hasn't discovered a cure either." Leinas replied, causing the Fox Princess to look at me for confirmation.
I gave a nod. "The curse is stronger than any method of healing or curse-dispelling spell I know. Each time it's been healed, Leinas' face returns to that appearance immediately afterwards."
The Fox Princess looked back to Leinas and one of her tails hovered near the girl's face before a spell array grew upon its tip, one that I had never seen before. Leinas remained still, even if her expression was one of surprise, and possibly hope. When the spell finally ended, the goddess gave out a simple hum. Then, she smiled.
"I see, now." Amazingly, the goddess cupped Leinas' cheek with her hand, not bothered by the pus that she touched or began to ooze upon her hand. "What an interesting bad status. One creates a fixed state for your appearance."
As she said this, a new spell array grew from the hand cupping Leinas' cheek. It was more powerful than the first, and certainly stronger than any other spell I've witnessed before. It was beautiful and divine in ways I couldn't imagine. Yet, my mind also focused upon the words the goddess said.
A 'fixed state'. If it was what I thought it meant, then it would explain why no healing spell had ever been able to fix her appearance! "It would revert any changes to your face that a healing spell would cause." With those confirming words, another spell array came to life in her hand, covering the right side of Leinas' face in a soft golden glow.
Upon fading, Leinas lost the disfigurement. I found myself waiting in anticipation for her curse to return. It's what happened the numerous times I've attempted to cure her before. Yet, three seconds had passed with no reversion. Five. Ten.
I could feel my jaw drop in amazement. Within a single minute, she had cured Leinas that years of other attempts hadn't.
Suddenly, a cloth appeared in the goddess' hand that she used to wipe off the pus from Leinas' face, then that of her own hand. Upon finishing, the dirtied cloth was consumed in a burst of azure flames that quickly faded.
"There now. No more curse to mar that beautiful face of yours. Want to see?" With those words, a mirror was conjured into the Fox Princess' hand in a feat of magic that hadn't even required the use of a spell array!
Leinas shakily took the mirror from the goddess, her spear forgotten about as it fell to the ground. When she brought it up to her face, the knight gently brushed her fingers against the unblemished skin of her cured face. A gasp came from the knight as tears welled in her eyes. A moment later, the mirror fell to the floor and Leinas rushed to the goddess and wrapped her in an embrace as she began sobbing.
"T-Thank you!" Leinas cried into the goddess' shoulder.
I almost worried that Leinas had gone too far with her emotional display of gratitude. But then, the goddess surprisingly returned the embrace with a few of her tails added to it. The Fox Princess stroked the back of the girl's head in a maternal fashion, remaining in place with Leinas for a while.
Eventually, after enough time had passed, the knight finally settled and lifted her head from the goddess' shoulder. "Are you feeling better?" The goddess asked the knight who gave a nod and a sniff as she wiped her eyes. "Good to hear. How about you take a seat with Fluder and I," As she said this, a simple wave of the goddess' hand and three cushioned chairs of gold appeared around us.
Calmly, I sat down in the conjured chair worth a fortune as the goddess and Leinas sat in the two others. I noted how the knight's attention was fully fixated upon the Fox Princess, and I already assumed that Leinas' loyalty to the Empire had all but evaporated with the freely given cure to her curse.
At least I needn't worry about Leinas trying to run me through or alert his Majesty when I finally announced my allegiance to the Fox Princess. I could only hope that the goddess wouldn't wish for me to make his Majesty my enemy. I would if she requested it, but for the boy I've come to know and raise all these years, almost like a son, I would feel great sorrow in the process.
"Now, I believe that it is time to speak about matters that you would find of great interest. For starters, your multiple teams of workers and mercenaries sent to the lake." Before I could even muster up an explanation, the Fox Princess held up her hand and I quickly became silent.
My eyes slightly widened as I prayed that they hadn't done anything to upset the Fox Princess. "I utterly apologize if they have done anything that could've upset you, your Highness."
"I wasn't upset, I was more curious at their arrival. After hearing of how they arrived to Tob by wagons, I decided to scry the area. Lucky me that your praying grabbed my attention while doing so." She really could hear me praying to her!
That was a fascinating revelation. I found myself wanting to question more on the mechanics behind such an ability, but I stayed my tongue on such questions for now. "They were only sent as an investigative party before Leinas and I would go ourselves. It was merely a precaution."
The goddess smirked under her veil, "A precaution to make certain that I wouldn't kill random strangers that approach the lake, I'd guess?"
A dry smile grew upon my lips, "Precisely. While the reports I've heard have labeled you as benevolent, it is wise to make certain of such rumors. I'm beyond happy that my worries turned out to be unfounded." I said that with relief before asking, "What did happen to the workers and mercenaries that were sent?"
"I'm feeding and giving them all a warm bed to rest in for the night. Tomorrow, I plan to teleport them to the wagons with gifts of treasure." My eyebrow quirked up at this.
"Gifts of treasure? Why might you do that, if I can be so bold, your Highness?" Even Leinas seemed interested in hearing this answer.
"There are a few reasons, with one of which being that I'm a generous goddess. The other two are more pragmatic on my part. As a newcomer to these lands, it's beneficial to be friendly so that other nations and organizations are willing to approach and speak with me. And in turn, as a goddess, it inspires people to worship me; giving me power."
"Your power derives from worship?"
The Fox Princess smiled. "Partially. Most of the power I have now is from my original strength, but I have acquired even greater from attaining new worshippers. I would like to continue to do so, especially if it leads to the lives of those who worship me being improved."
"How is it that you plan to improve lives? I find myself quite intrigued at the prospect. No doubt that his Majesty would also be interested in such improvements for his people." I found myself musing at the thought. His Majesty would be highly inclined to accept the Fox Princess if it came at a pure benefit to his people.
"Some of my plans involve increasing food production to mitigate starvation. Part of this could be done with a few spells that I know. Another improvement would be in the spread of healing spells I know to the people. I'm well aware of the monopoly that the Church of the Four Great Gods have in Re-Estize, and I'd surmise that it's the same in the Baharuth as well."
She received a nod from me, and from Leinas as well. "The Church does have heavy control on healing spells used for profit. The same wouldn't be said for those spells being used for charity, but considering how little I've heard of such altruism, along with the knowledge I have of their Punishment Squads, it wouldn't be far-off to say that they tend to remove any potential competitors that stick their heads up too high from anonymity."
"Then it seems that E-Rantel and the rest of the Re-Estize are not the only ones with such an issue of corruption." The goddess put a hand under her chin in thought and asked, "From what I know of your country, I would think that the 'Bloody Emperor' wouldn't allow another faction within his nation have so much power. Considering how he purged so many nobles, it appears odd to me."
My brows creased at the question, and she wasn't incorrect about the oddity of it from an outsider's perspective compared to an internal perspective of his Majesty's choices that I taken part of the planning for. "That's not an unreasonable question, your Highness. During his Majesty's purge, he weeded out all those in power who were unloyal, corrupt, incompetent, or a challenge to his rule. All except for a few organizations. One was the Adventurer's Guild that had the use of providing jobs to the masses and is famously politically neutral in all affairs between the countries hosting their branches.
The other was the Church. Unlike the Adventurer's Guild, they were known for influencing leaders and nobles of the Empire to further their own power. The difficulty with trying to subjugate them comes from the numerous problems that may occur in the process. As they have a good sway on the citizens of the nation, it could lead the Church to convincing them to rise up against the government, throwing the Empire into chaos. All the while, they'd bankroll another promising noble to overthrow Emperor Jircniv. Then, there comes the potential religious crusades from other countries that might be convinced to invade the Baharuth due to our persecuting of the Baharuth Church."
With a sigh, I shook my head, "Too many potential disasters during the chaotic time of the Purge made it unfeasible. Instead, his Majesty and I felt that an appeasement would be the better choice. We continue to allow them a monopoly on profitable healing, enshrined in law and untaxed, and they would support Emperor Jircniv's right to rule."
The golden-haired goddess gave a hum in thought. "And I would assume that you and your Emperor would have a plan in place to deal with the Church in the future?"
I smiled with a chuckle, "Most certainly, your Highness. As a whole, the Church of the Four Great Gods is a fortress of steel that only the most confident would dare challenge. The same could not be said about its leaders who can be bought, swayed, intimidated, or eliminated. His Majesty has slowly been working on this process for years now."
The Fox Princess crossed her legs and giggled in amusement. "And what might you and your Emperor do to someone like me? I can't be bought—" She held out her left hand and conjured coins of platinum and gold within before letting them fall to the floor in an uncaring act. "—I can't be intimidated by whatever threats are made to me. And I doubt that there's a single person in the entire Empire that could try and match my power." A large ball of azure flame blazed in her hand, like an inferno, then was quickly snuffed out.
"I would do nothing, your Highness. And I would try my best to convince his Majesty to avoid any such foolishness."
The goddess' golden eyes narrowed in interest at my declaration. "You are much wiser than a few others that I have encountered. Yet, I can also tell that there is something else. Another reason for your reluctance to go against me. Why is that?"
With that opening she had now given to me, I finally decided to answer with my plea. Additionally, with the way I noticed that Leinas has acted and followed our conversation, I felt confident that she wouldn't attempt to kill me for treason, galvanizing my resolve to make my request.
Standing from my chair, I then kneeled before the goddess in supplication. "Because of my single desire to learn from you. Even if his Majesty were to give me the order to fight you, I would do it because of that humble wish. Please, after everything I have seen, I would pledge myself to you if you were to take me as your student!"
"You're that desperate to learn from me?" The Fox Princess' eyes and posture told me that she already knew the extent of my desperation.
"Yes, my Lady! I have spent more than two centuries of my life learning everything I could of magic. After all of these years, I have only reached the barest surface of the 6th Tier, knowing that there must be greater heights to be achieved! My dream is to learn all I can about magic until the very last breath I take. You are the very goddess of magic that I would pledge my life and soul to in order to learn more of the study I love!"
With my impassioned plea, I saw the goddess' golden eyes flash for a moment before a smile grew upon her lips. "I see, that's quite a passion you have. Additionally, you're human, correct?"
I nodded. "That is correct, my Lady." For a moment I pondered why that made her curious until I realized that for her, she probably was used to humans living for barely a century throughout her many – possibly millennia – years of existence. My extended lifespan was likely an oddity to her.
Her head slightly cocked to the side as she asked, "Curious. How is it that you have lived for so long?"
"It was due to a foolish mistake in my youth." I admitted with a slight chuckle at the folly of my hubris. "In my youth centuries ago, I was both impatient and arrogant due to my talent at spellcraft. Even so, I was smart enough as a younger man to realize that I could never learn everything I wished to know about magic in a single lifetime. So, I hastily worked with a few other mages to create a ritual that would turn us immortal."
"I assume it backfired?"
"In a sense." I smirked at the recollection, "After two years of research and testing, I and the three mages I worked with, thought that we had cracked the theory of immortality. Since I was in a great haste to become immortal while in my prime years, I enacted the ritual upon myself. My compatriots followed me and we all believed ourselves immortal after we saw none of the side-effects from prior testing.
Foolishly, two of the other mages felt that immortality meant that they could act recklessly, getting killed in experiments of theirs while the other disappeared. That only left myself as the only witness to our supposed triumph. And, at first, I truly believed it had worked when, by the time I was in my 60's, I didn't even look 30. It was decades later when I spotted my hair beginning to whiten, felt the strength of my youth begin to abandon me, did I understand my failure."
I found myself laughing from what I, after allowing myself a good many years to adjust to it, saw as quite funny in my advanced age. "I didn't become immortal, I merely slowed my age. Now, instead of enjoying the permanent vigor of youth, I get to feel the slow and extended frailty of my twilight years. To this day, I haven't figured out the secret to immortality, and I fear that were I to find it, I'd be bedridden and feeble. Who would ever want to live an eternity of that?"
"I'd imagine it to be a little inconvenient." The Fox Princess joked with a laugh that I found myself joining in. "That is quite fascinating to hear that, even if you didn't perfect it, you've managed to get closer to immortality than any other I've heard of."
"I'm not so narcissistic to believe that I was the only mage to get close to or actually achieve immortality. If I had to guess, there likely is someone out there that learned it before keeping knowledge of it to themselves and staying out of the public perception." I mused aloud at the idea, "After all, when it appeared like I had cracked the concept of immortality, there was no end to rival mages, thieves, and nobles who tried to acquire the knowledge from me. That certainly ceased once I started showing my age."
"Humans are always in such a rush to prevent their eventual end. A lot of other kitsune – my people – would find the inability to enjoy life, and instead focus on the end of it, to be an odd state of mind. Yet, even though my people are immortal, I was raised among humans. I know better than most other long-lived races how fast time can seem to pass for those with a limited amount of it."
"How interesting. Is there any particular reason for you to have lived among humans?"
"They would be personal reasons. Just know that while I am a goddess, I have a very human mentality on quite a few concepts."
"I understand, my Lady." I accepted with a bow of my head. Her mysterious origin, thousands of years in the making, were different from the ancient texts I could uncover on other gods. But as a goddess of magic, I would be honestly surprised if she wasn't different from the other origins of deities who just appeared from – what is theorized – to be a coalescence of mana.
I'd love to hear more about it from a scholarly perspective.
"But I think, with how devoted you are to learning magic, I could take you on as a student." Hearing those words made my heart leap for joy.
The Fox Princess was willing to teach me! I would learn from the trove of knowledge contained within her mind. It was a dream come true.
"Thank you, Teacher! Thank you for taking this humble human as a student in your ways!" I praised her, praised Teacher. I would directly learn the spells of a goddess.
"You're welcome, Fluder." Teacher said warmly. Suddenly, Leinas stood up and moved in front of the goddess' chair. I had an inkling of an idea of what was about to happen, so I remained quiet.
"Fox Princess, I beg of you," Leinas said, kneeling before the goddess with utmost reverence and respect in her voice. "Let me pledge my allegiance to you. Devote my life and spear to your name and cause. Serve you for the rest of my days and beyond."
"Are you certain about this Leinas?" The knight nodded with utter certainty. "Then I shall accept this oath. From this day forth, you shall be my knight." Then, the Fox Princess turned to me. "I never expected to attain a student and a knight in my service when I came here. But I'm happy about it all the same."
"I'm pleased to hear this, Teacher." I remarked with a soft smile. "What will you have us do now, Teacher? Should we return back to Emperor Jircniv or go with you?"
"For now, continue serving Jircniv. Inform him that I wish to establish diplomatic ties and religion within the Empire. Additionally, tell him that he will end his conquest for the Re-Estize as next time one of his wars is fought, I will be on the battlefield to prevent both armies from coming near each other."
A mixture of terror and curiosity filled me at the final declaration. Terror from imagining the raw power and destruction that may occur from a goddess fighting. The curiosity came from imagining what spells a goddess like her might use in such a battle?
"It will be done, Teacher." I said in compliance. Then, I decided to ask her one more thing, "Teacher, is there anything else you would ask of me?"
"Yes, there is one final thing. You are a teacher as well, are you not?" I gave a nod, and as I did so, a white tome with a blue flame embossed on the cover appeared in Teacher's hand. "This tome contains the knowledge on the 6th Tier spell [Heal] and the 5th Tier spell [Raise Dead]. Learn from it and spread that knowledge to your students."
My hands were shaking as they took the tome from her hand. Teacher freely gave me knowledge that most others would hoard to themselves. It was beyond generous and absolutely astounding!
I couldn't resist opening the tome and perusing the information within. I was amazed by the level of information this tome had just for the spell [Raise Dead]. There were more pages going even further into the spell's mechanics, along with concepts that even the least intuitive mages could grasp. Beyond just this spell, I could utilize so many other short lessons for other spells in the same area of [Raise Dead].
"Glad to see that you like my gift." Teacher said with mirth in her voice. Her voice got me to lift my head from the pages and nod.
"It is a wondrous treasure, Teacher. This can change the world as we know it!" I answered excitedly.
Teacher smiled and nodded. "That's what I hope for. I want people to improve themselves, make the lives of those around them so much easier. The knowledge I put into those pages can be used to save lives, and as a teacher, I was hoping that you could pass this knowledge onto others."
It almost baffled me to hear how altruistic one of her level of power was. It was refreshing to hear after my many years of extended life.
"I will spread this knowledge throughout the entire magic academy. Your teachings will be given to all who wish to learn them, Teacher." I promised with a firm resolve.
Teacher then conjured a crystal flask in one hand and held her other above it. Using one of her sharp claws, she cut a wound into her hand and let glowing, golden blood fall into the flask until it had become filled.
She put a stopper on the top and held it out to me. Hesitantly, I took the flask, finding my gaze drawn to the liquid within that felt warm with power. "If you wish, you can give that to others to drink, increasing their mana and casting ability in the process. You can mix that with mana-infused water to make more."
This was the substance that the E-Rantel Magician's Guild used to empower themselves. The thoughts of what more it could do were almost limitless! "Thank you for this most precious gift, Teacher!" I said appreciatively with a bow.
"You're most welcome, Fluder. As for you, my knight–" Teacher turned to Leinas, "I believe that you require something greater than a simple spear." Then, Teacher stuck her hand out, and I was astonished to see it disappear into a small portal of black void before she pulled it, and the white, wooden shaft of a spear, out of the portal.
The tip of it ended in a fiery piece of metal formed into a sharp spearhead that was held in place by the white wood wrapping around it. In fact, it almost seemed like the wood had grown around the metal. I doubted that the wood was anything normal, especially because of how it wasn't burning when wrapped around the spearhead.
Leinas' visible eye widened as she stood from her chair and carefully took the offered weapon. Backing up, she tested the weapon with a few a few practice swings and stabs. Some sense of satisfaction appeared on her features before she strode back to Teacher.
Resting the butt of the spear into the ground, Leinas went down on one knee and bowed her head. "I humbly thank you for this precious gift, my Lady. I will use it well."
"I know you will." Teacher stood up from her chair, and I moved to join her. "It's about time that I left. Before I go–" She held out her hand and Leinas and I watched as gold and jewels appeared in a chest before us. "–give this gift to Emperor Jircniv. It will give him reason to believe that your individual gifts weren't because you've switched allegiances. In addition, I will come by eventually to check in on the both of you. If you need my help, then keep these in hand and think of me."
In both of her hands appeared a small golden statuette of a fox with ten tails. Leinas and I took the offered objects, with me quickly realizing that my arms were becoming full with Teacher's gifts.
"Good luck, my student and my knight." And just as she arrived, Teacher disappeared in a flash of light.
Striding over to my table, I set the numerous gifts I received upon its surface and thought about the future of my academy. I had tools to make it even better than it currently was. The curriculum would need to be heavily edited for Teacher's knowledge.
Beyond just that, she was a goddess that wished to be worshipped. While unorthodox, I could have a small shrine set up and dedicated to her in the academy for the students to go to if they wished.
But before then, I would need to speak with his Majesty. Glancing to Leinas as she met my gaze, she likely shared the same thought that I did. "It's for the best if we come to a matching alibi when we speak with his Majesty again."
The blonde knight nodded in agreement. "I agree, Lord Fluder."
[Tsunami]
I found myself at the top of a hill gazing upon the silver meadows of Lady Inari. In a sense, it felt good to be back home as I sniffed in the familiar scent. Yet, that scent mixed with another one that I, and every other kitsune alive, were intimately familiar with.
Lady Inari was very close.
Turning around, I found the white-haired goddess sitting upon the grass look upon me with something that almost felt primal in her glowing silver gaze. It was so similar to my Kashia's, making me know where she inherited it from.
Still, now was not the time for observation.
Walking over to Lady Inari, I knelt down and bowed before her. "It is an honor to appear before you, Lady Inari. What may this humble kitsune do for you?"
"How about we take some time to talk, Tsunami. Please, have a seat." Lady Inari replied as she gestured to the ground. Even with the disarming and motherly smile on her face, I could tell that this was an order. With a fluid motion, I finally sat in front of Lady Inari, almost like one would an equal.
"What would you like to talk about, Lady Inari?" I calmly asked, considering what it was she possibly had in mind.
"Just a few minor things, Tsunami. After all, you have just become one of my little Kashia's Maidens. That is a cause for celebration, wouldn't you say, Tsunami?" Lady Inari answered, making me smile and nod.
"Of course, my Lady. Becoming Princess Kashia's chosen is a blessing that anyone should be honored to have!" I answered, possibly a bit too excitedly. But it was hard to not think of how amazing this entire event was.
The ten-tailed goddess giggled at the answer. "It's easy enough to see how ecstatic you are. With how you've taken to dressing similar to Kashia, it must have been like a dream to become connected to her as you are."
"You're absolutely correct, my Lady. I'm beyond words at my new status and ability to serve Princess Kashia in whatever way she requires." Saying my Kashia's praises and words to the masses would be an event I would take great pleasure in.
"Well, besides how you feel, I'm so happy to see that my baby has finally begun to acquire kitsune followers of her own! It makes me excited to see my baby growing up into her own goddess." Lady Inari then took my hands into her own, "The next few things I have to look forward to are when my little fox finally rules all of the new Realm as its queen, when she finally has her human wedding ceremony." Lady Inari gave me a conspiratorial smirk, "Freyja and I have been working together on the perfect dress for her special day."
As Lady Inari mentioned that, I found myself imagining my Kashia and I on our wedding day in the future. At least, I was until Lady Inari's excited bouncing in place pulled me out of it, "And after that, both I and Freyja are eagerly waiting for the moment when my little girl gives me even more grandbabies to spoil!" Then, Lady Inari leaned close to my ear and whispered, "And just between us, Freyja and I have ensured that three would be the smallest number of kits she has in any litter."
Internally, my eyes narrowed at the amount of information that Lady Inari was revealing to me. Why was she doing so? Continuing to maintain a cheerful demeanor, I tried to join Lady Inari's jubilation. "That sounds wonderful, Lady Inari! I'm happy to hear that Princess Kashia will have such a lovely future!"
"I've had so many plans put in motion for this future. But I have to ask, what are your plans for the future? What do you see yourself doing in the years to come?" Lady Inari's question made me freeze as, looking into her calculating eyes, I had the feeling that she knew so much more than I expected.
"Serving your family faithfully, my Lady. Perhaps even have a family of my own." I answered simply.
"Oh, is that so? Probably will be a very lucky mate to attract your attention. Likely one that is beautiful, intelligent, powerful… godly."
As Lady Inari said that, I finally received confirmation that she was aware of my feelings. "How long have you known?"
"I'm a goddess of fertility. While my sense of such things is not as accurate as a goddess of love's, I can still decipher much when it's related to my daughter. Aside from her mate, your attraction to her is quite apparent." Her expression was hard to discern any thoughts from, still masked in that simple smile.
"Then you disapprove of my feelings?"
Lady Inari shook her head. "I neither approve nor deny your love to Kashia. I don't decide what others may think or feel for another. If you wish to be with her, then it will be Kashia's decision on whether she reciprocates or not. Her choice, I hope you understand." The warning was followed by the aurora of the sky losing all color for a moment as the light around us was seemingly sucked into Lady Inari.
It almost felt like the weight of the entire Realm was crushing down upon me. Then, just as it came, the weight disappeared and color returned to the sky and the world brightened once more. My heart was pounding as I attempted to recompose myself.
The threat was made abundantly clear.
"I-I understand, my Lady. I would never do anything to force Kashia to love me. My Love is too precious to sully her like that!" I proclaimed, earning a kindly pat on the hand from Lady Inari.
"Good to hear. I'm pleased to see that we have a good understanding. Now, mind telling me how your work in Re-Estize is going with Princess Renner? And tell me everything, including what you may have left out for my daughter's sake." I found a slight smirk appear on my lips at Lady Inari's question.
While my Kashia wasn't as informed of my history of espionage, assassinations, and sabotage, Lady Inari was. She allowed my summoning for a reason. It was because of this that I assumed that she wished for me to utilize it. Something I have done with pleasure.
"Certainly, Lady Inari." From there, I explained the details of mine and Renner's plan. How we had been increasing her reputation, slowly changing the Head Priests of the Church of the Four Great Gods, targets who we were neutralizing to maintain stability of the kingdom. Though, I did keep a few of Renner's proclivities out of this report.
Lady Inari was silent throughout my recollection, giving me nods to continue until I had finally ended with my latest triumph.
"You did well in dealing with the Magician's Guild. Though I still feel that such barbaric acts deserved even worse fates than they received." With a sigh, any sign of anger left her features and she continued, "As for the rest, you and Renner are free to continue as you are. I'll also keep what the two of you have needed to do from my daughter's ears."
My brow rose at Lady Inari's wish to remain silent. "Why is that?" I asked this even with the beginnings of an idea as to why she would want to keep something from my Kashia.
"While I, and especially my little Kashia, would find a few of the things you've done to be distasteful, they lead to a purpose. For instance, my Master of Secrets has done many things of a darker nature to protect our home. He doesn't tell me, and I won't pry, but I know that they were needed."
I nodded and bowed. "Thank you for your understanding, my Lady."
"You're welcome. I wish for you further success in aiding my daughter, Maiden Tsunami. And remember to temper yourself." The silver glow of her eyes was the last thing I could see as darkness claimed my vision.
[Team Foresight]
Day 49:
Waking up on comfortable beds was something that the members of Foresight found downright refreshing. "Wow, I never knew how much I'd miss a bed until last night." Hekkeran stretched as he got out of a shared bed with Imina.
"We slept like nobles." Arche remarked as she put her gear on.
"Ate like them, too." Roberdyck added with a chuckle as he dressed in his armor. The four, along with all the other teams, were given a small feast with how much food the goddess had kindly provided them.
"Well, after all this, guess we'll be heading back to our client to report everything that we've seen." Imina said as she finished equipping the rest of her gear. "If there's one thing I'm most thankful for, it's that we technically didn't have to do anything involving water."
"Just love that that's the thing you focus on." Hekkeran teased, receiving a roll of the half-elf's eyes. A few minutes more, and the group finally finished getting dressed and went to their room's door. As Team Foresight got out of their room, they were surprised to see the brown fox from yesterday looking at them with her golden eyes. "Morning. All of you sleep well?" She asked.
"Very well." Hekkeran answered with a grin as his teammates made similar affirmations. "So, how can we help you?"
"I'm here to escort you four back to the main hall. After that, you and all the others are going to be teleported out of the forest."
"Now that's just convenient." Roberdyck remarked with a relieved expression. The others showed similar emotions.
"Thank the gods, I won't have to do another multiple days of walking through Tob again." Imina said with a grin.
"Yeah, having to remain vigilant for the forest's monsters multiple days straight can get real exhausting." Hekkeran added.
"Then you four best come, else everyone else is going to leave us behind." The brown fox said in amusement as she began padding away. The team looked at one another and gave a shrug before following after their guide.
Mid-walk, Arche was surprised when the brown fox spoke to her directly, "You said you had sisters, right?"
Hesitantly, Arche nodded, "That's correct. Why do you ask?" There was an unconfined suspicion in her voice.
"It just reminds me of myself, is all. I went adventuring for my sister, so I can relate." The brown fox answered, slightly easing the tension within Arche.
With an owlish blink, Arche found herself looking at the brown fox in a different light. "What happened with your sister that made you go adventuring?" The blonde mage questioned.
"She was taken, so I went searching to rescue her." The fox replied and then asked, "What about you?"
Arche thought about it for a moment, then she finally answered, "I'm trying to get my little sisters out of a bad situation. For that, I need to make money as a worker."
"I know what that's like. I hope that it's working out for you?" The brown fox said with an empathetic tone.
"At times, I think it does. Other times, it's like taking one step forwards and being pushed five steps back." Arche said with a slight scowl marring her face.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
As the brown fox and Foresight arrived to the courtyard, they spotted only a few people in the courtyard. This consisted of only the team of Crimson Bear and the Fox Princess who stood next to a dark portal.
To the amazement of the members of Foresight, they witnessed as she simply conjured riches in chests and handed them to each of Crimson Bear's members. Each team member excitedly took a small chest and gave thanks before stepping through the portal.
"Where's everyone else?" Imina asked as she glanced around the area, trying to spot if they had just passed by any of the other teams and hadn't noticed.
"They got here before you. As such, they were given their gifts and sent on their way. You're the last team to arrive." The brown fox replied.
"Great. Resting on comfortable beds made us sleep in for too long." Hekkeran muttered with a shake of his head.
Roberdyck clapped the fighter's shoulder with an amused smile. "Just appreciate that we slept somewhere comfortably." The paladin's positive tone got Hekkeran to roll his eyes and smirk. "By the way, why did the Fox Princess give all that treasure to Crimson Bear's members?"
"She's giving gifts to all of you. After all, she wants to establish a friendly reputation, so giving gifts to others would help. It's not like it costs her much to do so." The brown fox explained.
Arche could understand the mindset. She saw her parent waste money they didn't have on gifts to curry favor with other nobles. Not that it meant much considering that her parents were barely nobles in name only, even less in property and wealth.
Cheekily, Hekkeran joked, "So, a goddess is trying to bribe us, now?"
The brown fox giggled, "I guess you could look at it like that." Finally, the group arrived before the Fox Princess as her eyes moved over all of them.
"Morning. Glad to see you four are finally awake. Hope you slept well." The Fox Princess greeted with a warm tone.
"You could say that again. Best sleep I've had in a while." The team leader stated as he rested his hands on his hips.
"Same here." Imina agreed.
"We're quite appreciative of the hospitality, your Highness." Roberdyck added with a nod that was shared by a quiet, but smiling Arche.
"Happy to hear that. But now, it's time I sent you on your way with a few gifts in tow!" As she said this, the brown fox stood on her hind legs and rested her forelegs against the Fox Princess' side. In return, the goddess leaned down and listened as the brown fox whispered something to her.
"I see. You're sure?" A little more whispering, and the blonde goddess nodded, "Sounds good to me." The brown fox fell back onto her four legs while the Fox Princess stood back up. The four humans were uncertain of what the two were whispering about, but they hoped that it wasn't bad.
"To start, let's take care of the first few things." Saying this, she waved her hand and four small chests appeared open at their feet. In them, the group found gold, platinum, and jewels which shined in their eyes.
"By the gods, we've hit the motherload…" Hekkeran remarked, a thought shared by the others.
"You'll certainly have a good amount of money to retire with." The Fox Princess said with a giggle, then turned her gaze to Arche, "As for you, I have a little surprise for you." The Fox Princess held out her hand as a small golden statuette of a fox appeared. Then, the goddess used one of her tails to pick up the item and bring it over to the blonde mage.
Arche was curious as she held out her hands and let the object be deposited into them. Arche then started examining the pristine statuette, with her teammates looking over her shoulders curiously. "W-What's this for?" She asked as she looked up to the goddess.
"A little surprise. When you get home, just hold that in your hands and think of me. You'll like what happens after." The goddess gave a wink and then motioned to the portal.
Foresight then closed the lids of their chests and picked them up, with Arche storing her statuette inside of her chest. Before the group went into the portal, Arche found herself asking, "Why the extra gift?"
"My daughter and I were sympathetic to your plight. We decided to do something special for you because of it." Upon hearing this, the group quickly found their eyes drawn to the brown fox who wagged her tail.
"W-Wait, you're–" Arche didn't get to finish before the now revealed daughter interrupted.
"–her daughter? Yes." The brown fox confirmed. "It was nice meeting all of you, I hope the rest of your journey getting home is safe."
While flabbergasted, the group didn't get the chance to ask further as the portal rushed to engulf Foresight. It was after arriving on the other side that behind them, the dark portal finally dispersed, leaving them unable to go back, and Foresight could finally see all the other teams that had already gone through the portal before them were speaking amongst themselves.
Most were discussing the loot that they had just acquired, showing off the riches within to the others. Additionally, Foresight realized that they had ended up at the location they first entered the forest from a few days' prior. The group received some looks by the other teams until they grew bored and went back to chatting among themselves.
"I'll say one thing," Hekkeran began, "I did not expect anything of what happened today."
"Which part? Finding out that we were speaking to a goddess' daughter, the treasure, or being teleported outside of the forest?" Imina retorted.
"Yes." Hekkeran answered, getting a shove in the shoulder by the half-elf.
"Smartass."
A/N: Next chapter, we focus on the lizardman with a plan, Zaryusu. Besides him, we'll see what Peter and Dyne have been up to along with someone else who loves Thursdays. See you then.