"[Mark of the Master]," the slave trader casts the spell, and a slave mark with my name appears on Yulania's wrist.
"[Tongue of Obedience]," the trader casts another spell, and I fidget anxiously.
I'm not sure if that one was really necessary. I don't even know how it actually works.
Yulania exhales deeply in relief, and her expression seems calmer than it was a few moments before.
Through [Sense Soul], I see her last name, Este, fading away.
"Anything else?" The elven slaver asks me, and I shake my head. He nods and leaves through an [Eternal Gate].
"Trust in each other, and you'll achieve something beautiful," Luz advises us with an enchanting and warm smile.
"I'm sure you'll all work fine together," Confiel says with a youthful smirk.
"We've sworn to do our best," I say and nod respectfully.
"That's very good," Confiel says, and his face becomes more relaxed. "Now, what do you plan on doing next?"
"We'd like to continue exploring that Legado dungeon. After going so far, it'd be a shame to abandon such a mysterious tomb."
Confiel chuckles once, and Luz shrugs while smiling. "Even we are stuck at that door, but you can do as you please. Also, as you've guessed, that tomb belongs to an elven king, the last elven king, to be precise."
Ooh... that's the king that was killed by the first emperor. The emperor's spells were so powerful that they created Ultirei's tomb and Loyalist Lake.
Even Yulania looks impressed.
"You know that much, but you couldn't get past that door?" Lina asks, suddenly feeling very bold and excited.
Confiel shakes his head gently. "The elven historians all agree that Arreira's death caused the High Forest to realize how outmatched they were against the Empire, and thus, they avoided a drawn-out war that would have razed our land. But apparently, that's not the answer."
"We've nearly recited an entire book on history in front of that door for nothing," Luz says with a wry smile.
"A different perspective is probably necessary, then," I say.
"Considering that it's you saying that, I'll be eagerly awaiting your success," Confiel says. I grin in response, and he continues, "I've already given your identity to the guards so that they'll let you in and out of the castle at any time. You can also use the [Eternal Gate] hub as you wish, but try not to go somewhere outside of the High Forest unless it's truly necessary."
"Thank you for your support. I think that we'll go to Goldcross and give our testimony as soon as we can," I say.
"The Tribunal would appreciate that." -He flashes a smile- "Anyway, here is your letter of commendation." He pulls out a piece of paper and pushes it towards us. Once I grab it, his face turns serious. "Another thing, we've found someone at Escanso's dungeon that would be of interest to you: Darean."
So, it's finally going to end...
"The mad man," Yulania comments softly.
I raise an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?" I ask.
"He weaseled his way into a meeting with my father. He spun a complex lie about how he was a spy and had sensitive information about imperial encroachment on the High Forest. But one of my father's spies recognized him as being the man who was wanted by the Dawn of Fire, so after hearing his drivel, my father arrested him."
"Not everything he said was necessarily a lie," I say.
Yulania suddenly remembers that Mavel is dead, and the color of her face slowly drains. "He... knew that, but there were many lies weaved with the truth, so it was too much effort to try to discern them apart."
I hold back the need to reach over and hug her, then I turn to Confiel. "I'd like to interrogate Darean, then I'd like to... present him as a gift to Vanea Anara." Confiel and Luz seem a little shocked at the mention of Vanea, so I continue, "Darean has been after us ever since we killed his brother, who had joined a band of Wicked men that attacked us with the intent of raping my wives. We temporarily allied with Vanea to drive him out of Rabanara, but we couldn't kill him.
"It's true that he's a spy for someone in the Mainland, and since we're going to be Crown Lords one day, I'd like to build more goodwill with the Anara family."
Confiel evaluates my words and seems to become slightly pleased, then he says, "I don't know why the Anaras are ostracized by the nobles of the Mainland, but as long as you don't overtly declare an alliance with her, then it should be fine."
I nod in agreement and remember that one last thing I was going to ask them about, "I would also like to ask if you could search for Hana's family members. They should either be in prison or serving as Blood Slaves to someone, and we'd like to reunite her family with ours once we are Lords."
Hana holds her breath in surprise, and through [Bind], I feel her heart almost trying to smother her with happiness.
Luz brightens up and says, "I'll take care of that. We know that they aren't near the High Forest, so they might've been sent to Wideberg or Dyrmorder."
"Thank you," Hana says, and her voice nearly cracks.
Luz and I both smile gently at her and go silent.
"I believe that's all that we had left to discuss," Confiel says, and we all get up out of our chairs.
"I'll send your belongings to your new place," Luz says to Yulania, who nods without much energy.
"I'll go to Goldcross with Alissa. You girls can... get acquainted in the meantime," I say and smile at them.
"Find the 'Network' room. The official there will guide you to a portal to Goldcross," Confiel says, and I nod. "Well then, until another time," he finishes, and we bow, then the two Lords leave through a portal.
Yulania feeds mana to a gem in the table and gets up. I stare at her sexy, dark, and lacy underwear, noting how it contrasts with her yellow and transparent dress. She's a bombshell. I'm also starting to hope that her fashion sense rubs off on the other girls, especially Ciel, who still doesn't take advantage of her "assets" as much as she should.
Aoi and Gify leave my shoulders since they're also eager to interact with her.
The girls stand beside Yulania near the portals, and my new elven goddess starts to fidget nervously. I stare at her ass for a few seconds, until the usual servant appears.
"To our house, please," she requests, and the servant chants [Gate].
"Don't any of you dare steal the first bite from me," I warn the girls through [Bind].
"My fetish only gets fulfilled when it's Wolfy fucking another woman, so don't take this from me," Alissa also sends her own warning to them.
The three sex fiends on the other side of the line nod silently and swallow heavily.
Before Yulania enters the black circle, she sends me a curious glance, and I smile warmly at her in response.
She makes me feel a little silly and naive. She managed to touch my heart when she said that she'll give all her love to the girls and me, but I can't grow lazy, just thinking that our relationship will be simple. I hope it will, but I have to be very careful to make sure that she at least likes us.
I grab Alissa's hand, and we go towards the white gems embedded in the wall. A small plaque above each of them identifies which destination the portals lead to.
I feed mana into the one that says "[Eternal Gate] hub."
A rectangle materializes, and now that I've seen it so close up, I notice how it's like it went from being fully transparent to fully opaque over a single second as if it was always there and someone just moved the "transparency slider" to zero.
We cross through the white-veiled portal and exit into a similar hub to Escanso's castle. With it still being mid-morning, the strong sunlight coming from all of the portals makes the room almost uncomfortably bright, but still very beautiful as the glimpses through the portals give us a good idea about where they lead.
Four guards are standing at the corners of the room. They stare at us for a few seconds before they resume their duty like statues.
We start inspecting each of the portals. Most of them seem to lead to either a garden or a secluded house somewhere in the Empire. A grassland of dark green with a hint of silver; a rocky and humid place where only moss grows; a colorful jungle with huge pink mushrooms and many other weird plants; a cave where a multitude of glowing plants provide illumination; a balcony overlooking somewhere in the High Forest; another balcony facing a huge snowy and misty mountain; a mountainous region full of jagged rock faces and thick jungle...
"That's Fledgling Falls!" Alissa exclaims. We approach the portal, and the plaque confirms her words.
"Where's that?" I ask.
"Right next to the... Misty Low Forest!" She exclaims again as she reads the plaque next to the portal to Fledgling Falls.
Through the second portal, I can see a forest with normal, Earth-sized trees, except that the tree leaves look more like sombreros being held up on a thick stick. I see some juicy, round fruits hanging from these trees, and Alissa salivates at the sight of them.
"Chapefruit..." She mutters nostalgically.
"Escanso's castle should have a similar hub. When we become Crown Lords, we'll be able to use portals like these whenever we want."
Alissa nods and hugs my arm lovingly.
The room is huge, and there are more portals to explore, but we've endured enough temptation that we decide to move on before we give in to it.
There are only two doors here, one to the outside of the hub, and another with a large plaque saying "Imperial Gate Network," so we cross the latter.
We enter a large room where five well-armored guards stand at the ready near an elven official that's currently sitting behind a counter, waiting.
Beyond them, there's a long corridor full of heavy-looking, huge doors with many, many locks.
We approach the official and notice an Identification Crystal on top of the counter.
"Good morning," the official greets us with a soft smile.
"Good morning. We'd like to go to Goldcross," I say.
"Touch the crystal for a few seconds, please," the official replies and checks both our identities, then he compares it to some paperwork. After a few seconds, he lifts his head and gives us another smile while he motions to the guards. "Everything is in order, you may pass."
The guards escort us to one of the huge doors that magically unlocks itself as we get closer. It opens inwards and reveals a huge portal, then we cross through it without hesitation. The wooden and carpeted interior is replaced with bricks and tiles, and the air immediately becomes damper and hotter.
We see a similar huge door, now made of stone, slowly unlock itself for us and open without any visible help. We walk out of the room and see a similar scene to the previous hub.
Five guards escort us to the counter, where another official registers our names in his log.
"You're not allowed to wander inside the Lord's mansion, so you'll have to exit through the portal to the Lord's Hall," The official says and points to a white gem embedded in the wall near the door that leads out of this room.
We simply nod, and the guards lead us to it, then they activate the [Eternal Gate] and we cross through.
We're now in another brick building, a place called the Lord's Hall. This is where the commoners go to request audiences with their Lord.
Another guard seems to have been waiting for us and guides us to the outside. We see that only two people here are waiting for a meeting. Most towns have a government efficient enough that direct meetings with a Lord are rarely necessary.
Finally outside, we see that we're in the Nobles' Quarters of Goldcross.
The elven "tree house" is the dominant style here. They're grown from trees that have had their trunks enlarged to the size of a house, then hollowed out while leaving the crown of leaves intact. The other buildings follow the imperial style, having bricks that are mostly painted with red and orange. The Lord's Hall also follows the imperial style.
We enter onto the main road and see the Lord's baroque mansion peeking up from behind the houses. Its white bark makes a striking contrast against the landscape of green, red, and orange.
The town is as bustling as ever, but fortunately, we don't have to walk for long before we reach the Tribunal.
We wait in line, and when my turn finally comes, I explain my situation to the attendant, "Good morning. I'm Wolf Ryder, and I've been accused by Katasko of destruction of private property. Our trial is set for the next 25th. I'd like to meet with the Judge responsible for our case and deliver my letters of commendation to him."
The attendant nods, then leaves her booth and vanishes through a door.
While we wait, I share with Alissa how the girls are interacting with Yulania.
They started telling her about our adventures together, and they've reached the part where I told them that I'm from another realm.
"What...?" Yulania asks, and the girls repeat it again.
Ciel chimes in, incapable of containing her grin, "I know that it's almost impossible to believe, but we know that there are other realms beside ours. Wolfy was sent here and given all those Gifts for a reason."
Lina grabs Yulania's hand and helps her sit down in a chair before her knees give out.
Yulania starts mumbling, "This... is why you've all been so... 'mysterious' about his Gifts and his destiny. He's not just a hero, he's The Hero that will save the realm."
"Okay, that's, uh... that's a bit much. You girls embellished my story too much," I say through [Bind].
"Nonsense. We've only told her the truth from our perspective. You think too little of yourself," Alissa responds.
"Yeah. That Gift of yours is kind of wa~y too powerful. I still think that our future is going to be ridiculous," Roxanne says.
"It kind of already is. He's barely level thirty, and we're already destined to become Crown Lords," Alissa says.
"And soon he might become a shapeshifter if he manages to become a dragon," Hana says.
"And he's making me into a humanoid," Aoi says.
"But you girls are going to scare the shit out of her if you talk like that!" I protest.
Yulania smiles widely and brightly. "This is incredible! Amazing! I'm in a True Hero's party!" She exclaims.
My soul space goes silent.
"Right... you're all crazy. I should've expected that."
GIHIHIHIHI~!
"Crazy about you," Hana says, and I tune them out.
--
After a long time, the attendant finally comes back and says, "Judge Arbido would like to meet with you now."
We are guided to an office on the second floor with the Judge's name on the door.
We knock, and an old, raspy voice answers, "Come in."
We enter a cozy office decorated with many simple potted plants and flowers, a circle of sofas made from Uspidor skin, and a simple desk in front of a very wide window. Sitting behind the desk is an old man with a very stern expression. His short hair is so white that if I didn't have [Sense Soul], I wouldn't know whether he was a silver or a golden elf.
For his apparent age, his body still exudes a lot of vigor as he swiftly gets up from his chair.
"Wolf Ryder and... Alissa...?" Arbido asks.
"Yes, my fiancée," I say.
We nod respectfully at each other, and he motions to the sofas, "Please, sit."
The old man marches forward and takes a seat facing ours. He wears a very neat black robe that's made to look as smooth as possible, giving him a very strong air of "orderliness."
He feeds mana to a heating enchantment below a tea kettle and uncovers some biscuits for us. We all eat a few of the simple sweets and drink some mild not-orange tea.
"So," he starts and stops for a moment, then he gives me a cold and calculating look. "The first thing we need to discuss is: how are you alive? How did you escape the destruction of the Innocent Nymph?"
I feel a cold hand grasp my heart, and I search for Alissa's hand for comfort.
Then I breathe in deeply and prepare to tell the same lie I told to Confiel. I summon a bird without chanting and say, "I'm a summoner. For me, keeping an eye out on my surroundings is effortless, so why shouldn't I? Since we sleep in the wilderness so regularly, I've made it into a habit."
"So, you saw them, the heretics?"
"Yes. Four groups of seven robed and masked men and women suddenly appeared around the Inn. Then they huddled at the four corners of the building to cast [Meteor] in just a matter of seconds.
"The amount of mana used was greater than anything I'd ever felt before. Forgive my language, but after feeling that absurd amount of mana, we shat ourselves and jumped out of our window."
His gaze remains unwavering, and he asks without wasting a heartbeat, "How did you leave town without leaving a trace?"
I shrug. "Things were chaotic. With my summons as scouts, we waited for a breach in the wall's security, and I used [Telekinesis] to fly all of us over it."
"Why did you leave like that?" Another immediate question.
"Why is that even a question? Why wouldn't we run as fast as we could from those immensely powerful heretics?" Alissa asks, looking stupefied.
His cold eyes turn to her, giving me a moment of rest. "It never hurts to make sure that you've explored all the paths."
"Hmph," Alissa snorts, a little annoyed.
His eyes turn back to me, and the assault continues. "So, you wouldn't be able to recognize any of the heretics?"
"No," I answer, confidently.
"Do you have any idea why they might have attacked?"
"No," I answer confidently, again. I may have a Gift, but I still have no idea why they attacked the Inn, aside from simply being mustache-twirling villains.
"Are you involved in the incident in any way, shape, or form?"
My twitch is masked by a sigh as I answer, "Didn't you already check if I'm Wicked or not? You know that we still have our Blessings!"
"And those Blessings are the only things preventing me from calling the Punishers and letting them take you for interrogation."
I shudder a little, and even Alissa shivers from his voice. The Punishers aren't the Inquisition, but they'd still extract every little secret that we have, which would expose all of my Gifts and probably my world of origin to them.
I glare at Arbido and force a flare of my hatchling's anger to come out. "Of course we aren't involved!" I exclaim.
He hums, a little pleased, and the cold stare fades from his eyes, leaving only the intense severeness. "Just exploring all the paths."
"And have you?" I ask, a little flippant.
"Yes." -He nods, looking pleased- "Let's move on to other matters. You said that you had letters of commendation to deliver to me?"
I sigh and calm my heart. "Yes," I respond and pull out Rudito's and Confiel's letters, then I hand them to him.
He spends a long minute meticulously reading them both, then he returns them to me and maintains his severe tone as he says, "A fellow Agent commended you, and now you have the support of a Crown Lord... By themselves, these letters won't absolve you of the accusations, but they will annul any charge of malicious intent against you.
"If you were to be found guilty of the charge of destruction of private property, then at most you'd have to pay a fine." -His face twitches, and I swear he held back a smile- "But I'm dropping Katasko's case against you due to a lack of credible evidence."
Alissa and I let out a groan in sync.
"That's wonderful. Thank you," I say and nod respectfully.
Arbido's severe face softens a little, and he looks a few years younger as his wrinkles reduce in depth.
Then he straightens himself and lets his head hang low as he salutes. "As a member of both the Tribunal and the Seekers of Justice, I'd like to apologize on their behalf. We've discovered a few 'irregular' actions of some of our members, and we're working on correcting the flaws in our system." -He raises his head again and stops saluting- "We're also disciplining Captain Taavi for his abuse of power. His use of force wasn't proportional to the danger that someone like you, twice Blessed by the Gods, poses to the population at large."
Alissa squeezes my hand, and I can't hold back a smile.
But there's still something that I need to do, so I ask, "Is there anything we can legally do against Katasko? For us, it's obvious that they were pulling some strings to try to coerce us into... well, something. I'm still not sure what their goal was."
Arbido frowns and sighs. "Unfortunately, companies like Katasko know how to cover their tracks very well. For us, it's obvious that they were bribing our officers, but there's not enough evidence to prove that and not enough cases against them to make them a target for the Seekers of Truth.
"Perhaps with time they'll make enough mistakes that will allow us to act, but they're mostly limiting themselves to political bickering with the elven Lords. So, they are always close to the border of legality, but they never cross it."
At least we'll be able to face them on more even ground when we become Crown Lords.
"I see..." I whisper and sip more of the tea. "Well, at least this matter is resolved, for now."
He nods. "Indeed. The Tribunal swears to fight for the safety of the commoners, so I'm sorry that we weren't able to do more."
"Thank you, you've helped us enough." I show him a faint smile. "If everything is in order, I'll be taking my leave."
"Until next time, and may it be under better circumstances." He gives me a sympathetic look, and we leave.
--
We sigh in relief and fatigue.
"So many things, all happening so quickly," I whisper.
"And there's still Darean," Alissa says with a wry smile.
I chuckle once, then I remember how I told Confiel that I want him sent to Vanea, and it makes me shudder.
No, killing him would be a mercy that he doesn't deserve. He's a madman obsessed with murdering us.
We make our way back to the Lord's Hall, and I give Goldcross one last nostalgic look before we enter.
After Rande reaches this town, they'll spend a while resting, which would be the perfect opportunity to meet up again with Klein and Osaria, but they are still a long way from here.
We talk to the receptionist at the Hall and give her our names. She checks them against a list of people authorized to use the Imperial Gate Network under Confiel's name and finds ours, so we're guided back to the room from whence we came.
A minute later, we exit from the Hub Room in Goloria's castle.
It's pretty incredible that we've traveled so far and didn't even feel it.
The girls are sparring with Yulania and testing her abilities. It's almost mid-day, so it's time to have lunch, then we'll visit Darean.
Lina tells her about [Bind] and how Aoi is becoming a humanoid.
She misses a strike, and Hana backs-off, not feeling like taking advantage of a distracted opponent.
Yulania stands still and stares at Aoi, then her eyes lose focus, and she starts asking out loud, "You know what? This is stupid. What is Wolf Ryder? A Humanoid God walking on the land? How... how am I supposed to interact with him? He's a completely different person from all of us."
"Suck his dick long enough, and he'll give you a Blessing," Hana suggests.
"Less blasphemy, please," Ciel says.
"You'll soon realize that he's quite 'normal,'" Roxanne says.
"I wouldn't say that he's normal," Ciel says and tries to hide her smile.
"Wow, you girls are kind of mean," I say through [Bind].
"Hey, they are complimenting you," Hana says.
Roxanne chuckles. "Okay... he's just like us, though he's a little odd from time to time, you just treat him like you'd treat a friend. He's pretty casual about most things."
"Except when he's fucking," Hana says.
"Except when he's fucking," Roxanne agrees, and the girls all nod.
--
Intermission 14
--
"Excuse my presence, Centum Fluminis, for I have grave news. Crown Lord Confiel Rincipio deposed Crown Lord Mavel Este from power yesterday. Today, we've received a notice from our informants that the Helios fellowship has been allowed to fully utilize the Imperial Gate Network under Lord Rincipio's name."
I hear Sebastian's words and laugh with the wind. The man slumps, and his old face frowns.
Sebastian doesn't stop there, he continues, "The other shareholders have put forward a motion to limit your powers. They solely blame you for the loss of Nero and the 'sympathizers' that we had in the Enforcers."
"It matters not! Nothing matters! No more!" I exclaim and exclaim, and I laugh and laugh.
"Master?" Asks Sebastian as confused as a pebble.
I cough and recover my voice. "Helios was my last opportunity. I have no more options. Deciens Alkimeonids will order me to the front lines because he's unsatisfied with me. I'll die in the Purification."
The man's old and familiar face distorts into one of pain and anger. "You're a Centum! Why would he sacrifice someone of your rank?!"
"As I said, it matters not. Alkimeonids will have his way, and I will die."
I get up and stare out the window with a smile.
"I'm dead."
--
--
Hall of Fame of Patrons
The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:
Oracle Maximillian Hübner.
Prince PreownedFIN.
Lord Andrew Meyers.
Lord Hope.
Lord Samuel Lim.
Lord Bill.
Lord Novgarod.
Lord DJ.
Lord Cidant.
Lord Ashadun.
Lord Michale Erwin.
Lord Enrique Peña Gomez.
Lord Vampmire.
Lord Braidborn.
Lord Bakerdea.
Lord Yeeteris Dedmeem.
Lord D4rk Sheep.
Lord Nevarec.
Lord Nathan Vanbrunt.
Lord Andrew Heffelbower.
Noble Salty Panda.
Noble Evil.
Noble Yamibomb112.
Noble Maurice.
Noble Mild Fracas.