xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Psycho Circus Guildhall, 11:12 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A little after the lesson concluded for Bernard, Corvus and Vulp dematerialized and re-entered his body as he exited the room while shutting the door behind him. Quietly walking through the hallway on the bottom floor, Bernard reached the main hall of the Psycho Circus big top as he looked over and saw Camilla, dressed in an orange tank top under a white button short sleeve shirt with an orange long sleeve tied around her waist with a blue miniskirt and a pair of brown sandals, handing over cocktails she had on a platter to some of the guildmembers seated at a table.
"One cider on the rocks and two glasses of wine." Camilla said with a smile.
"Thanks, Camilla." An acrobat member of the guild said with a nod as he placed a few Jewels on the table as a tip, Camilla taking the money and placing them in her rear pocket.
"Call me if you need any- oh." Camilla said until she turned her head and noticed Bernard looking at her. "Excuse me." She said to her fellow guildmembers before walking over to her boyfriend. "Well, well, if isn't the future "King of the Clowns."' Camilla said with a warm smile on her face.
"Uh, hey." Bernard said with a slightly embarrassed tone as he blushed.
"How'd the lesson go, "Master Bernard?"' Camilla said with a jovial tone and a smirk on her face as Bernard's eyes widened.
"Do-don't call me that, I'm not the guild master yet..." Bernard said with a bashful voice as Camilla locked eyes with her boyfriend.
"Emphasis on "yet."' Camilla thought as she inched closer to Bernard, the beanie sporting wizard noticing her standing really close.
"As for the lesson, it was okay... I learned a couple of things." Bernard said. "A bit too many bullet holes and outbursts but I got through- I'm sorry but you're practically breathing on me!" He thought as he looked at Camilla, mere inches from his face.
"That's good to hear." Camilla said with a joyful tone as she walked behind her boyfriend. "I've got work to do so I'll see you later." She said as Bernard turned his head and saw the look of cheerfulness on her face, causing his heart to start to beat quickly.
As she started to walk away, Camilla placed a hand on the top of Bernard's back and proceeded to slowly move her fingers from one side of his back to the other, a ticklish sensation suddenly coursing through his body. Looking at her as she walked away, Camilla winked at him with her right eye before heading straight for the bar, leaving Bernard with a slightly red face.
"Aside from Barrier Magic, she has the magical power of agitating my heart... In ways I'm not going to complain about..." Bernard thought to himself as he walked away, passing a few of the tables as Pietro noticed him.
"Ah, Lil' Bern." Pietro said at a table by himself with a cocktail in his hand.
"Oh, how're you doing, Pietro?" Bernard said, greeting the large man.
"You seem free. Sit?" Pietro said as he offered the beanie sporting young man a seat.
"A moment of mental reprieve might be good..." Bernard thought as he decided to walk over and sit opposite of the mustachioed strongman.
"Saw Alfana earlier coming out of the same hallway as you. Guess that means you have made strides in your guild master training?" Pietro said with curiosity as Bernard.
"Sorta..." Bernard replied. "It's certainly a lot to take in." He said as Pietro took a sip of his drink.
"Hmmmm..." Pietro said as he looked at his drink.
"...Something wrong?" Bernard questioned as he noticed Pietro turn his head towards the bar.
"Harriet, this mojito is too sweet." Pietro said towards his bearded sister behind the bar as she was in the process of shaking a drink with her beard.
"They can't all be perfect, bro!" Harriet exclaimed towards her sibling as Pietro's eye twitched.
"I said it before, I'll say it again: I respect the art of mixed drinks too much to be served middling quality cocktails." Pietro said with a critical tone as Harriet rolled her eyes. "Camilla, are you free?" He said in the direction of the S-class head of security, in the middle of carrying another batch of drinks on the platter over her shoulder.
"Sorry, Pietro, I'm in the middle of something." Camilla said with a calm tone as Pietro sighed.
"Guess I'll have to make do with this before I head out..." Pietro said quietly to himself as Bernard raised an eyebrow. "Not good luck to me to have a middle quality cocktail before I go on a job." He thought.
"You going out on a request?" Bernard said as he briefly looked over at the request board. "...Have to figure out how I can improve the guild's reputation to get more work around here..." He thought quietly to himself.
"Something like that." Pietro replied as he downed his drink. "Ahhh!" He exclaimed as Bernard was taken aback by his quick swig.
"Whoa..." Bernard said with a concerned look on his face. "You could've just continued to sip it." He said as Pietro shook his head.
"Anything short of perfection with a blended concoction should just be downed quickly. When it's absolutely right, every individual sip is sheer bliss." Pietro said.
"...You sound like a reviewer writing an article in a newspaper..." Bernard commented as Pietro closed his eyes.
"Heh." Pietro chuckled. "Maybe I'll consider doing that when I inevitably retire from performing." He continued as Bernard's eyes widened from his words.
"...God, I hope that's not too soon..." Bernard thought with a bothered look in his eyes as Pietro noticed the face he was making.
"Don't worry your little head, boy. I'm not going anywhere." Pietro thought as he looked at Bernard, a small smile forming underneath his moustache as a pair of individuals slowly approached behind the beanie sporting wizard.
"Hey, that's- huh?!" Bernard said as he suddenly felt a masculine arm wrap around his shoulders and a pair of feminine arms wrap around his left arm.
"Yo, Bernie!" Anatoli said with a jovial tone with his free hand holding a tankard with booze in it.
"Hey, Bernard!" Marlene said as she clung to Bernard's arm as he turned his head in both directions to see his friends on both of his sides.
"Uh!" Bernard muttered as Anatoli and Marlene backed away from him and sat down in the open seats at the table he and Pietro were seated at, the shirtless monkey-like wizard and the lizard-like girl sitting opposite of each other.
"What's up, dude?" Anatoli said as he looked at his friend.
"Heard you had some kind of "guild master training" with your mom." Marlene said as Bernard raised an eyebrow.
"I'm guessing everyone in the guild knows now, huh?" Bernard thought as he looked around at some of the other members of the guild that briefly glanced at him like Swan, Kawazu, Vidaldus, Kain and Abel, amongst others.
"Yeah, it wasn't exactly "private."' Pietro commented as he looked at Bernard.
"How'd everyone find out so fast?" Bernard questioned.
"Camilla explained what was happening when the gunshot went off earlier." Anatoli said as he pointed his thumb in the direction of where Bernard's girlfriend was.
"Mom and her stupid gun cane..." Bernard thought with an annoyed look on his face.
"I'm so happy for you." Marlene said with a cheerful tone, catching Bernard's attention.
"Ummm..." Bernard muttered as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Say whatever you want, "fangs." He's still with another woman." Anatoli said mockingly as Marlene made an offended expression towards her friend.
"I-I know that already! Shut up, Anatoli!" Marlene cried out in embarrassment. "Not like you have had any luck with Swan. She's rejected you five or six times." She commented as Anatoli's face contorted from a mocking one to one of aggravation.
"Hey!" Anatoli said as he slammed his drink down on the table. "It's a work in progress! She's not completely rejected me!" He said defensively. "And it wasn't "me being rejected five or six times..." It was more like "me and five or six other guys all asked her out at once and she said "no..."' Anatoli thought while looking away from everyone as Bernard leaned towards Marlene to whisper.
"...Has she really been asked out that much by him?" Bernard asked towards the lizard-like girl.
"Or so I've heard... I've spent time with her outside the guild, she's mentioned the "thrill of stringing men along" more than once." Marlene said as she scratched her face with her index finger.
'"That's a toxic personality trait..."' Bernard and Pietro thought in unison as the latter overheard what she said.
"Well, enough about me. Let's hear from the "Man of the Hour."' Anatoli said as he looked at Bernard. "What're some insights from your folks?" He asked as Bernard raised an eyebrow.
"Not to go too deeply into it, because I'm pretty sure my parents want me to keep quiet on a few things, but for now, the guild is being run by all three of us as a form of "three heads" kind of thing." Bernard explained.
"Master Barnum is the guild master, Alfana is the show manager, and you are?" Pietro questioned.
"The "heir apparent," I guess?" Bernard replied with an unsure tone. "Effectively speaking, I have little to no responsibilities outside of handling those tasks mom left me..." He thought with a disgruntled look in his eyes.
"Well, that's worth celebrating." Marlene said with a smile as she put her hands together.
"Can't say I agree to be honest." Bernard said towards the lizard-like girl. "Mom gave me some stuff I need to do as a form of "homework."' He said as he stood up from his seat.
"Leaving so soon?" Pietro said with a raised eyebrow.
"We just got here!" Anatoli exclaimed as he pointed at himself and Marlene.
"I got something to do." Bernard said as he lightly pushed his stool in. "...Now, I just need to figure out how to make contact..." He thought to himself.
'"Homework?"' Marlene reiterated with Bernard nodding.
"It's better I get a head start on it." Bernard said as Camilla quietly walked closer to the group. "Faster I get it done, faster we can celebrate." He said as the trio all looked at him with surprised expressions forming on their faces.
"Huh?" Marlene muttered.
"Hmm?" Pietro mumbled.
"Think I went deaf for a minute there because it almost sounded there like you said you wanted to party." Anatoli said with confused eyes with Bernard sighing in response.
"You guys said you want to celebrate me becoming the second guild master, yeah?" Bernard said with a bashful look on his face. "Well, I have to do something that will make that celebration worthwhile..." He said as he walked away from the group, exiting the guildhall as they all quietly watched him leave.
"...That just happen?" Anatoli said in disbelief.
"I can't believe my ears..." Marlene said in similar bewilderment.
"Certainly wasn't what I was expecting to come from Lil' Bern." Pietro commented as Camilla walked into view of the others.
"Looks to me like he's changed again." Camilla said while holding a platter tightly against her body.
"If he's like that more often, I ain't complaining." Anatoli said with a smirk.
"Perhaps that firing was just the thing he needed." Pietro said with a small smile under his mustache.
"He definitely has a bit more of a charm to him like that..." Marlene said with a blush on her face as Camilla looked at her friend.
"Not surprised I'm not the only one who gets like that from seeing this new side to him, hehehe." Camilla said with a bright smile and a chuckle towards Marlene.
"Hehe." Marlene giggled.
"Well then." Pietro said as he stood up. "I better get a move on." He said towards the others.
"Oh, yeah. I have to head to a shop in town before I set out myself." Anatoli said as he quickly chugged his tankard. "Need to find a weapon shop or a smithy." He thought.
"I'm going to make a pitstop towards the place where I get my herbs and ingredients for my vials before I go too after dance practice." Marlene said as she stood up from her seat. "How about you?" She asked towards Camilla.
"I still have to bartend for a while so I'm either going to go at night or on one of the days off Alfana gave me." Camilla replied. "Having a dedicated day off from work is certainly a nice perk." She thought to herself with a smirk on her face as Pietro reached into his pocket.
"Then it looks like everyone is mentally prepped." Pietro said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small object.
"Got mine. You two?" Anatoli said as he reached into his front pocket.
"Yup." Marlene said as she reached into her boot with Camilla reaching into her rear pocket.
"Ditto." Camilla said as everyone extended their hands.
In each of their hands, the quartet of Psycho Circus wizards held a number of small but notable trinkets: blank Capture Pins. In Pietro's hand was two pins while Anatoli had a total of three in his palm. Comparatively, Marlene held four pins in her hand while Camilla had three in her own, all four of the wizards looking with confident expressions on their faces.
"Dang, you got four. Who you trying to impress?" Anatoli said jokingly towards Marlene as she blushed in embarrassment from his comment.
"Be quiet!" Marlene exclaimed before shifting her gaze at Camilla.
"Once again, not surprised." Camilla thought with a headshake and a smile on her face.
Meanwhile, away from the guildhall, Bernard walked through the streets of Hemlock as Corvus flew next to him and Vulp walked beside him. While making a gesture of contemplation with his hand on his chin, Bernard walked over to one of the towns many benches and sat down on it with Vulp hopping on top of Bernard's lap in a comforting manner.
"Hmmmm..." Bernard muttered as he took his free hand and started to stroke Vulp's back, the fox Celestial Spirit wagging his tail with a content look on his face.
"Here's my idea: we cause trouble in town again and get the royal army to roll around and jail us once more. That's certainly going to turn their heads in our direction." Corvus said as Bernard looked at the crow.
"Except for the fact that they give a damn about us because we're not insane anarchists." Bernard said in response to Corvus' suggestion. "We need to figure out some way to reach out to Hisui and Arcadios. And preferably a quick and nonviolent one too." He thought as he rubbed his face. "Got any suggestions?" Bernard questioned towards Vulp.
With Vulp raising a paw towards his lower jaw in a contemplative manner, mimicking Bernard, the fox Celestial Spirit got up from his master's lap and jumped onto the ground. Interested in what Vulp was going to do, Bernard and Corvus stared at him as the fox proceeded to raise his tail into the air and started to morph it into the shape of a tent.
"Time for a game of charades." Corvus commented.
"Wonder if my mom would go nuts if she found we're technically playing a "game" and she's not here for it." Bernard thought, wondering if Alfana would be interested in participating in charades. "Looks like a tent." He said as Vulp nodded to confirm his answer. "My place?" Bernard said as Vulp shook his head to signify a negative response.
"Main hall?" Corvus said as Vulp nodded to confirm the crows answer.
"Okay, main guildhall." Bernard thought as Vulp proceeded to extend tendrils out of his fur and morphed the tips into the shape of small humanoids, moving them towards the tent like they were entering. "Looks people walking inside..." He said.
"Those guildmembers?" Corvus questioned as Vulp shook his head. "Well, who else could they be if they're not guildmembers?" He said while rubbing the back of his head with his wing.
"...Oh, showgoers." Bernard said as he pointed at Vulp, the fox nodding to confirm his answer. "We only get people coming to the guildhall who aren't members on Ultimate Carnival night." He thought as he continued to absorb information from Vulp.
"So, we got audience members on the night of the guild show. That it?" Corvus said as Vulp lowered one of the tendrils that was human-shaped and pointed at it with his nose, drawing Bernard's attention towards it.
"You're singling this one out?" Bernard asked towards Vulp as he nodded with Bernard staring at the small portion of his fox Celestial Spirit's tail. "Why though?" He thought.
"Yo, Vulp, I give up. Why don't you just tell us... Oh wait." Corvus said with a smirk as Vulp looked at his fellow Celestial Spirit with a bothered expression on his face.
"A specific person attending the show..." Bernard said aloud as Corvus and Vulp looked at him. "A specific person... Specific person... Ah!" He said until he might have finally figured out what Vulp was referring to. "The spy!" Bernard exclaimed.
"What "spy?"' Corvus said with a raised eyebrow. "...Oh wait, the one you keep looking for!" He said as Vulp nodded to confirm both of their statements.
"That just might work, Vulp!" Bernard said with a smile towards the fox as Vulp morphed his fur and tail back to normal before jumping back onto the bench, sticking out his tongue and beginning to lick his master's face. "Hey, quit it." He said with a smile on his face as Vulp was being affectionate with him.
"Good vibes aside, how we going to find this person watching us? Next show ain't happening for a while." Corvus said as Bernard wiped his face of Vulp's saliva as the fox stopped licking him.
"That's true... As far as we know, the spy doesn't show themselves unless it's the night of the show at the guild." Bernard thought, now contemplating a means to find the government agent who has been watching him. "Hmmmm..." He muttered to himself.
"I'm still hoping for the first idea to be picked." Corvus said with a goofy smirk on his face as Bernard and Vulp glared at him.
"No." Bernard said bluntly. "But..." He continued as the Celestial Spirits looked at their magical benefactor. "...Are they watching us right now?" Bernard questioned.
Curious, Bernard, Corvus and Vulp started to shift their gazes in various directions on the street in an effort to find anyone suspicious. In Vulps direction, the fox watched an old man with a hunched back and a staff walking slowly while Corvus caught the sight of a group of kids playing with a ball, kicking it around. As for Bernard, he looked around at the windows of the stores to see if anyone inside of them were looking in their direction.
"All I see is brats and some "coffin dodgers" roaming around out here. Wouldn't call that "royal family spy" material." Corvus commented as Bernard squinted his eyes in the direction of one of the businesses in the area.
"...Hold on..." Bernard said as he looked at a nearby coffee shop with an outdoor counter as a woman with short black hair in a bowl cut hairstyle sat in a chair, dressed in a plain attire consisting of a jacket with grey fringe around the hood, brown shorts, a black shirt and brown boots with long black socks up to her knees, holding a small book with a blue cover in her hands that she appeared to be reading. "Wait right here and keep an eye on me... I'll make a certain gesture to signal you." He said as he stood up from the bench and walked towards the coffee shop.
Walking towards the counter with a small line of two people in front of him waiting to be served, Bernard proceeded to pretend to wait for a half-second before looking over at the woman, noticing her briefly glancing at him before her eyes shifted back to her book. With a face that appeared interested, Bernard walked away from the line, approaching her.
"Hi-" Bernard said towards the woman.
"Not interested in younger men." The woman said as she turned the page.
"Not why I'm here!" Bernard thought with a twitch in his eye. "Sorry, I think you're mistaken." He said as Corvus and Vulp looked on. "I'm more interested in what you're reading." Bernard said as the woman shifted her eyes in his direction.
"It's an old book, nothing special." The woman replied with an uninterested tone. '"The Radiant Silvergun" by Hargrove Mink." She said, reading the title of the book.
"Not to me." Bernard said with a smirk on his face as the woman raised an eyebrow. "I've been reading the sequel to that book." He said as he grabbed the chair in front of her table and sat opposite of her.
"Have you now?" The woman replied, still uninterested.
"I'm a big fan of Mink's work." Bernard said with a smile as he removed his beanie, placing it on the table as the woman shifted her attention to the beanie that sported the logo for Psycho Circus.
"The heck is he doing?" Corvus pondered as he and Vulp watched him talk to the woman.
"Guy puts a lot of effort into his character work but he spends too much time explaining things." Bernard said, making small talk as the woman closed the book and proceeded to stand up.
"If you'll excuse me." The woman said as she walked past Bernard.
"Do you like shows?" Bernard said while not looking at the woman as she stopped moving.
"I do not." The woman said.
"Then why did you stop moving to answer my question?" Bernard thought with a smirk briefly appearing on his face. "Have you ever attended Psycho Circus' "Ultimate Carnival?"' He asked from his chair as he picked up his hat and raised it.
"That must be the signal." Corvus whispered towards Vulp as they proceeded to head to Bernard.
"I can't say I have." The woman said with a serious voice.
"Kid?" Corvus said towards Bernard as he landed on the desk and Vulp got in-between his master and the female stranger.
"You say that, but I recognize you from the past few shows at the guild. We have a Surveillance Lacrima in the guildhall over there on the night of the shows. Let's just say I have a good memory, and I only noticed your attendance recently." Bernard said as he put his beanie back on and then pointed at the guild, prompting the woman to turn in his direction. "I just happen to be interested-" He said until the woman spoke up.
"Name: Bernard O'Halloran. Age: twenty. Son of Psycho Circus guild master Barnum O'Halloran and fortune teller and entrepreneur Alfana O'Halloran." The woman said as Bernard turned around and made a surprised expression. "Responsible for the arrests of former assassin, Fukuro, and serial killer, Claudia Vanderheem, as well as aiding in the capture and subsequent execution of the Blood Dragon Slayer." She continued as Bernard's eyes widened.
"Uh..." Bernard mumbled.
"Okay, if this woman isn't the spy, she's definitely a stalker!" Corvus thought nervously as Vulp sweated in concern.
"Possessor of a variety of magical entities on his person as well as physically impaired with a Lacrima pacemaker. Nicknamed the "Clown Prince" due to his biological heritage and expectancy to lead the Psycho Circus guild in the future. Shown to have high cognitive abilities, leadership qualities and a decent moral compass." The woman said with serious eyes as Bernard shut his mouth.
"...You make it sound like I'm a huge deal but I'm actually a pretty average guy..." Bernard thought, now lacking in composure as the woman walked back over to him and sat opposite of him once more.
"Also has a propensity to have anger induced outbursts, displays tendencies one would psychologically view as "workaholic," has a proclivity for pastries and wearing knit caps at all times of the day. Also shows immense rage at usage of the term "douchebag" when referring to him and may or may not have an innate talent for attracting the attention of women." The woman continued as Bernard winced at her continued examination of his character.
"Okay, maybe I'm not totally average... Also, I swear you better not call me a douchebag, or I'll drown you in demonic slime..." Bernard thought as a vein popped on the side of his head.
"My job was to avoid making contact but seeing as you have chosen to make yourself known, I have very little choice. My name is Riana." Riana said, finally introducing herself.
"Well... I'd introduce myself but you seem to know a lot about me..." Bernard said with an awkward tone.
"May as well introduce myself, I'm-" Corvus said until Riana spoke up.
"Corvus, the silver key Celestial Spirit and one of Bernard O'Halloran's pets. Able to use Lightning Magic. Displays a personality one would describe as "rambunctious and lecherous." And Vulpecula, better known as "Vulp," the silver key Celestial Spirit. Able to use some kind of Hair Magic to manipulate his fur, also Bernard's pet and displays a personality similar to that of a subjugated canine. Both of you haven't returned to the Celestial Spirit World in a very long time as you've become taken with Bernard O'Halloran, declaring him as your "master."' Riana said, fully explaining the Celestial Spirits' personalities, abilities and nature of their relationship with the pacemaker needing wizard.
"Whoa! That's some personal info!" Corvus exclaimed angrily as Vulp made a shocked expression.
"Are you-" Bernard said to question the woman until Riana cut him off.
"Correct, I am a knight sent by Princess Hisui and Chief Arcadios with the task of monitoring your development." Riana said as she and Bernard locked eyes.
"I knew it!" Bernard said loudly as he pointed at her, inadvertently startling the other coffee shop attendants. "So-sorry." He said apologetically.
"Rather impressive you were able to recognize me." Riana said with a moderately impressed voice but a completely emotionless expression on her face.
"Yeah, no fooling." Corvus said as he and Vulp looked at Bernard.
"It's not that cool... I just noticed you in the crowd from the past few shows since the last time I saw the princess and the general and made an assumption." Bernard said while rubbing the back of his head. "If she was just some woman reading, I was going to leave her alone and walk back with embarrassment for being stupid..." He thought, acknowledging the negatives of what would have happened if Riana wasn't the spy sent by the government.
"Regardless, you were able to spot me while I was trying to be incognito." Riana said with a plain voice.
"Well, I was looking for you." Bernard said towards the disguised knight.
"Out of curiosity, how long have you been watching us?" Corvus said with a bit of concern in his voice.
"Actually, I would like to know about that too..." Bernard thought as he looked at Riana.
"This spying job was a reassignment from my original position." Riana said. "Originally, I was in charge of a group called "White Tiger" that guarded an artifact belonging to the kingdom. I won't discuss the finer details, but that was some time ago and I was given this task to be assigned to monitor a particular wizard with potential in this town." She said as Bernard pointed at himself. "Precisely." Riana said, confirming her target.
'"Potential?"' Bernard replied.
"For a position in the knights of the kingdom." Riana stated as Bernard blinked a few times.
"I already said to Hisui and Arcadios, I'm not interested in joining the Hungry Wolf Knights. I'm not an executioner." Bernard said. "Though, I bet Hoyabembe and Zaphkiel might like that." He thought to himself.
"I see. Regrettable." Riana said as she stood up from her chair. "I'll be sending a report up the chain to the head of the knights that I've been compromised. A different knight will be sent to monitor you from now on. The princess and chief has made it clear that there's little interest in ending scouting you for a position within the chivalric order." She said as she started to walk away from Bernard.
"Whoa! Whoa! Wait!" Bernard said as he quickly got to his feet, getting in front of the knight. "Don't leave just yet, I wanted to ask you something." He said as Riana raised an eyebrow.
"And that would be?" Riana questioned.
"...Can you get me a meeting with Hisui and Arcadios? I'd like to discuss something with them." Bernard said with a serious look in his eyes as Riana looked at him and then at the Celestial Spirits, also making faces of interest in her answer.
"And the nature of your desire for seeing the royal family?" Riana asked.
"Business, not pleasure..." Bernard thought to himself. "Something relative to a prior meeting we had..." He said quietly.
"I see." Riana said as she looked at the Celestial Spirits. "Can you please store yourselves within this man?" She said while pointing at Bernard as the beanie sporting young man raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" Corvus muttered as he and Vulp looked at Bernard, the pacemaker needing wizard shrugging in response. "Well... Okay, but if something happens to him, I'm zapping that shapely booty of yours." He said with serious eyes towards the knight as he and Vulp turned into light particles and disappeared inside of Bernards Lacrima in his chest.
"I don't believe I've ever been complimented and threatened at the same time in that manner." Riana said plainly as Bernard sighed from Corvus' behavior.
"Ignore it..." Bernard said with a tired voice. "So, why did you want me to send them away?" He asked as Riana lifted a hand and placed it on his shoulder. "Hmmm?" Bernard mumbled as he looked at her hand.
"Teleportation Magic can reach far distances much easier when there's less people to move." Riana said.
'"Telep-" huh!?" Bernard replied until suddenly himself and Riana disappeared into thin air with a small dust cloud appearing where their feet were.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Mercurius Castle, 12:02 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the capital city of Crocus, in the center of a small island in the center of the city within a lake running through it, was the extremely large and tall palace where the royal family of Fiore lived known as Mercurius. In one of the hallways of the luxurious castle, Bernard and Riana had appeared from out of thin air as two of the knights of the kingdom looked on with surprised expressions, having seen them suddenly arrive.
"What the hell?!" Bernard exclaimed in shock as he noticed he wasn't in Hemlock anymore.
"Trespassers!" One of the knights said as he held up his spear with Riana turning and locking eyes with her fellow knights of Fiore.
"What're you doing here!?" The other said, also readying himself as Riana reached into her jacket and pulled out a badge that had the royal family insignia on it.
"Calm yourselves, I'm one of you." Riana said as Bernard stood behind her, shifting his head around as he started to recognize where he was.
"Wait, Mercurius!?" Bernard said loudly as Riana turned back to look at him.
"Correct." Riana said plainly.
"Oh, wait a minute... Riana?" One of the knights said towards the bowl cut styled woman with her nodding quietly, the two knights lowering their guards.
"I barely recognized you with that "relaxed" vibe you gave off." The other knight said as the pair approached Bernard and Riana.
"...This is her being "relaxed?"' Bernard thought with a skeptical look on his face as he looked at Riana.
"I find the new location I was stationed to be rather tranquil." Riana said with the same plain tone she's had since Bernard met her.
"You definitely don't sound it." Bernard thought.
"Who's he?" One of the knights asked as they pointed at Bernard.
"He wishes to speak directly to Princess Hisui and Chief Arcadios. On my authority, I can attest to his validity as an individual the higher-ups will wish to speak with." Riana said as the knights looked at each other briefly in confusion.
"What for?" One of the knights said as Bernard rubbed the back of his head.
"Something of a private matter specific to himself, the princess and the general." Riana said as Bernard watched on with her turning back to look at him. "Please, come with us." She asked as Corvus and Vulp proceeding to materialize next to Bernard and noticed the new environment they were in.
"Um, kid?! What's going on?!" Corvus questioned as he flew next to Bernard.
"...A lot in a short amount of time..." Bernard thought as he started walking with the Celestial Spirits having no choice but to follow along behind the knights as they led him through the palace.
Anyone ever wear pins on their clothes? I mean, when they have a cool design, they look super cool but when it's those unionized pins to show "support" for your business, they're really lame. I know the point of them is just to throw your lot behind some people who claim to want to help but let's face it, they're there just for a paycheck. Okay, enough about ham sandwiches! Bernard has some stuff to do and he's first deciding to tackle one issue that's still nagging him and that's the situation Bernard specifically has with the royal family of the kingdom of Fiore. After making an assumption on a random individual at a coffee shop, Bernard managed to find the spy that has been watching him and his guild for several weeks: former White Tiger squadron leader, Riana. Following a discussion that culminated in Bernard requesting a sit-down with Princess Hisui and Chief Arcadios, the knight of the kingdom used magic to bring Bernard straight to Mercurius in the capital city and is giving him permission to talk to the royals. What will Bernard say to the Heads of State? Will they attempt to convince him to join the knight order of the kingdom once again? Or will Bernard be forced to pay the exuberantly massive monetary debt he owes them when they paid for the first guildhall's upgrade? Find out next time on Menagerie II!
Author's Note: (So people are probably wondering now following the last four chapters about Bernard pet's and how he is obtaining them (mostly) in the new version of M2. I figured I may as well give the rundown on it so people can understand my mindset.
Originally, I wrote Alfana giving Bernard a pair of maps with an indiscriminate number of dots on them that implied Bernard was going to have an overwhelming number of encounters that would yield, or not yield, acquisitions to his horde. When I came up with that, I came up with it on the basis of it being a funny gag and it would lead to minor arcs of Bernard having these interesting encounters but then I realized something kind of... piss about my writing style: I care a lot about pacing. And when you care about pacing, you worry a lot about when the PLOT is actually happening.
One of the reasons I reset the story originally was because of the maps being a god-awful plot device for writing because, with the story arcs I had planned and wanted to write for this story's narrative, I need Bernard to have a LOT of pets in his possession and writing individual arcs for each and every single pet means the story would take EONS before we get to the stuff that matters. Let's just say, "power dichotomy" is extremely prevalent and based on what Bernard had in the original version of the story, it wasn't believable enough to ME to have Bernard have ALL of the encounters. One could argue I could just have Bernard have a ton of off-screen acquisitions but... That sounds poorly thought up and I'm not comfortable with doing that.
Soooo... I think this means is much better as it also gives more characterization to the major cast members and also means we can have some fun playing a guessing game of what people are finding for our handicapped hero... Because currently, there's six people now who are looking for things to give him as "backup" in the coming arc... And maybe even more than that. That much I will say until the next chapter. Be seeing you all in the next one.)